WINDSOR, Ont. — General Motors Corporation says that a new FAST software program developed by TradePoint Systems is currently helping them clear over 7000 shipments each week in Detroit and Port Huron, Buffalo, and Laredo, Texas.

"The carriers for these types of loads would typically spend 2-4 hours at the border having their paperwork processed. With FAST there is no paper, only the electronic transaction data and the pre-approved account data," says Gilbert S. Duhn Jr., Customs Manager for General Motors Corporation (GM).

The FAST software GM uses was developed by TradePoint Systems and has allowed GM’s carriers to improve their productivity by providing electronic manifest data in advance to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), says the company.

"We can clear up to seventy shipments on one truck using a bar code containing the Trip number or with the transponder in less than 30 seconds! Our carriers are better able to utilize their equipment and drivers by reducing the border wait time by several hours. CBP is able to process the shipments much faster with a higher level of confidence on these FAST loads. This allows CBP to spend their time saved looking at the more risky shipments. We were also able to take the release message from CBP which includes the ship from DUNS and SID (Shipment ID number) to import our Advance Shipment Notice (ASN) from the shipper, append purchase order price, tariff classifications, weight, country of origin, and NAFTA eligibility to populate the CBP Entry. The entire process has been automated using the TradePoint FASTPoint solution," says Duhn.

“We were the first to offer carriers and importers our commercially available FASTPoint software application. We will continue to work every step of the way with CBP to ensure that our customers are ready in advance with any mandated changes. TradePoint is at the forefront of all new and future programs associated with ACE, AES and C-TPAT,” says Ken Halle, Executive COO at TradePoint Systems.

The cities of Windsor and Sarnia, Ontario, meanwhile, have agreed to allow FAST trucks to utilize traffic lanes normally prohibited to truck traffic to move to the front of the line. This is accomplished utilizing a special placard placed in the window to the truck to identify it as FAST. Trucks without the placard will be ticketed. In Nuevo Laredo there is a special lane used for empty trucks and cabs only. FAST shipments can now use this lane to move to the front of the line.