OTTAWA — The Canada Border Services Agency is again delaying the implementation of the ACI eManifest program for highway carriers.

Slated to roll out in June of this year, the system is being pushed once again from September 31st to October 31, 2010.

CBSA says the reason for the most recent delay is related to the software of other commercial programs, not ACI.

"While ACI is ready to go, we bundle some commercial programs together, and there are a few delays from other areas that need to be addressed before we can go live," said Jason Proceviat, CBSA’s eManifest director,

Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) CEO David Bradley said that although carriers understand the challenges involved in implementing such a complex program, "we are frustrated by the latest delay."

"Carriers are seeking improved efficiencies at the border," he said. "This includes electronic transmission of data through ACI, and we are looking forward to implementation sooner rather than later. We want to avoid the stop-start pattern that characterized implementation of the ACE eManifest program in the US."

Carriers have been preparing for ACI eManifest for several years, says Bradley.

In fact, close to a hundred carriers approached CBSA just to participate in the early testing of ACI.