WASHINGTON, D.C. – The industry-wide fear of lengthy pre-notification times for goods crossing the border has once more reared its ugly head.

One hour is insufficient to allow U.S. officials to analyze entry data and assess risk, said U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Deputy Commissioner Doug Browning during a June 5 speech to the Washington International Trade Association.

The comment comes after a lengthy battle between trucking industry insiders and U.S. customs, one that the industry had hoped it had won.

The battle, waged earlier this year, was over the much-maligned “strawman” proposal, introduced by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the wake of legislation passed by U.S. Congress to secure supply chains by Oct. 1, 2003.

The proposal, which included a proviso that shipments crossing the border must be reported four hours prior to loading, appeared to have been quashed earlier this year, when the plan provoked considerable outcry from trucking industry insiders.

Lobby groups, such as the CTA, immediately sprang into action.

“The reality of the situation is that carriers, particularly those operating in close proximity to the border and those supporting just-in-time manufacturing, simply do not know four or 24 hours in advance what may be loaded on a particular truck,” read the CTA’s written presentation to the U.S. Customs Service Jan. 31, 2003.

The CTA was not alone in criticizing the “strawman.” The U.S. Commercial Operations Advisory Committee (COAC), which included representation from the CTA, submitted a counter-proposal to U.S. Customs Commissioner Robert Bonner Mar. 14, recommending the original proposal be altered to take into account the realities of cross-border trucking.

As a result, at least according to those in the thick of the negotiations, the CBP subsequently appeared to pull the plug on the original four-hour pre-notification requirement, in favour of a somewhat lighter version. “Strawman Light” may or may not have been closer to one-hour in length, depending on whom you talk to. (Other reports from negotiation insiders put COAC’s recommended pre-notification period at 15-30 minutes.)

Be that as it may, what so far appears to be a two-headed monster is rearing its other head.

To say carriers are worried about the new rule (expected June 20) is an understatement.

Challenger president Dan Einwechter called the plan to extend pre-notification times “completely unworkable… it will significantly restrict trade and bring certain manufacturing sectors to their knees,” Einwechter said, upon learning the news. (The company has offices in Cambridge, Ont., Vancouver and Montreal).

“Anything that relies on just-in-time delivery, for example the automotive industry, will suffer. Not to mention anyone who’s less than four hours from the border (if the “strawman” is revived). Think about it – anyone in the load and go environment wants to be efficient with their trucks and their trailers. If you’re in Toronto, it’s only two hours to Buffalo and four hours to Detroit. Can you imagine a situation where you load up in Toronto and then sit at the border for two hours?”

Einwechter said he understands the security issues motivating U.S. customs.

“But customs should be looking at ways to improve their own systems.”

Shippers should also shoulder some of the responsibility that comes with tighter borders, added Einwechter.

“Shippers have information on loads long before the carrier gets it. They could transmit that information earlier. This monkey shouldn’t be on the back of carriers. After all, we’re moving other people’s loads,” he said.

But Einwechter doesn’t seem optimistic about shippers suddenly developing a soft spot for the problems of carriers. Nor does he believe any sympathy will be forthcoming from carriers down south.

“Domestic trucking companies in the States couldn’t care less,” he said. “They don’t have any idea of what we’re dealing with.”

Norm Mackie, president of Mackie Moving Systems in Oshawa, said he’s hoping the automotive industry will come to the rescue.

“Because the bulk of our business is automotive we’re hoping the industry will have some input through the regulatory bodies,” Mackie said.

“We’re hoping the automotive industry down there, with companies like GM, will have some input.”

Mark Verspeeten, operations supervisor at Verspeeten Cartage, in Ingersoll, Ont. is worried extended pre-notification times will make O/Os leave for greener domestic pastures.

“I just lost two subcontractors because they didn’t want to wait at the border anymore,” Verspeeten said. “They gave me 30 days notice and went off to haul domestic freight.”

It’s not just about money either, said Verspeeten.

“It’s also about getting more hours on your logbook and not getting home when you thought you would. The drivers are fed up with it. And they’re fed up of sitting at the border and watching the cars move through when they can’t. They feel like they’re being picked on.”

The industry-approved hour-long pre-notification period was okay, said Verspeeten.

“I was okay with an hour, but two hours is just not acceptable. It’s just baloney.”

Verspeeten said his company is already getting its FAST cards, but they won’t make much difference when it comes to giving the required notice on loads. Be that as it may, systems like the FAST (Free and Secure Trade) pre-registration program are where the salvation of cross-border carriers ultimately lies, according to Sam Barone, president of Transportation Partners, a consulting company, a member of the Chartered Institute of Transport and Logistics and former president of the Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council.

“The key point is having the information systems in place for both the carriers and the shippers,” Barone said. “Trucking companies certainly can’t bear the brunt of this alone.”

But even the best of information systems still won’t be able to prevent carriers from getting stuck at the border if pre-notification times are lengthy, Barone admitted.

“What pre-notification does is add a whole unproductive dimension to your operation. It’s like supply chain cholesterol.”

Robert Penner, vice-president of operations for Bison, headquartered in Winnipeg, agrees. He also worries about carriers being required to arrive at customs within a certain time period, after they’ve met the pre-notification requirements.

“What if a driver arrives in the afternoon instead of the morning, as expected? Does that mean he’ll have to wait? Will the pre-notification information have to be submitted again? What we’re worried about is the window we’ll have to operate in.”

Whether drivers will be required to arrive within a pre-set time period is anyone’s guess. These and more questions will no doubt be answered when the new rule is made public June 20. Until then, there’s little anyone can do to counter it. Even David Bradley of the CTA was cautious with his comments, preferring to reserve them for when the rule is actually published.

“Obviously, we are disappointed to learn of the CBP deputy chief’s comments,” Bradley said. “If not one-hour pre-notification, then what? It is difficult to comment when we don’t know what CBP is planning. Industry on both sides of the border was clear – the ‘strawman’ proposal would have visited severe hardship on the North American economy by impeding Just-In-Time inventory/delivery systems. If indeed, the one-hour window proposed is insufficient to allow CBP to conduct a proper risk assessment, then perhaps CBP needs to review its own systems and internal administration as opposed to unnecessarily impeding commerce.”

While truckers wait to see what pre-notification plan CBP will come up with now, there is also speculation on the political maneuverings going on in Washington. CBP’s sudden willingness earlier this year to pull its proposal off the table left some industry insiders wondering if the severity of the proposal was not simply a government ploy to get the industry’s attention.

Some industry watchers saw the CBP’s retreat from its initial “strawman” proposal as tac
tical – merely a superficial willingness to work closer with industry, prior to bringing in similarly tough rules.

When the “strawman” proposal initially provoked an outcry, the head of CBP, Robert Bonner, conceded publicly that there might have been a big misunderstanding between his government agency, which was brought together following the events of 9/11 in the largest government restructuring since the 1950s, and the transportation industry.

The proposed advanced reporting rule for trucks was part of a package of CBP proposals for all modes, which were also, with the exception of pre-notification rules for marine shipments, pulled off the table. Bonner then looked to the commercial operations advisory committee (COAC), a group of private sector individuals entrusted to advise the department on customs issues, for help in drafting a better plan.

The CTA played an important role in those discussions.