ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) announced it has been commissioned by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) to conduct a Border Efficiency Assessment, specifically focusing on the Agency’s Truck E-Manifest initiative and its use by motor carriers.

ATRI’s work for CBP will include documenting industry and regulatory-based border crossing inefficiencies and quantifying appropriate Truck E-Manifest efficiency solutions. ATRI will provide the agency and the industry with an analysis of the costs and benefits associated with use of the Truck E-Manifest and offer recommendations for system refinement.

The Truck E-Manifest, part of the Agency’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) program, enables motor carriers and shippers to electronically submit manifests to CBP prior to arrival at U.S. land border crossings to reduce processing time and allow for online tracking of shipments.

“With trade at the border experiencing record growth, it is imperative that government and industry work together to identify how efficiencies at border crossings can be achieved,” said Rebecca Brewster, ATRI president and COO. “This research, along with other efforts such as the Federal Highway Administration/ATRI Freight Performance Measures initiative, will provide the most comprehensive picture of what system improvements are available and where they should be brought to bear.”

“It is challenging for any trucking company these days to balance the strong growth in freight movement with the continuously evolving needs for freight and border security,” stated Herb Schmidt, president and CEO, Contract Freighters Incorporated. “This joint research initiative between ATRI and CBP will provide us with important insights on the role that technology can play in moving our international goods more efficiently.”

ATRI is the U.S. trucking industry’s not-for-profit research organization. It is engaged in critical research relating to freight transportation’s essential role in maintaining a safe, secure and efficient transportation system.

Recently Phase Four enforcement of ACE was temporarily postponed until June 15 because of “unexpected programming difficulties that have not been resolved.”

Under the new enforcement phase, any PAPS cargo shipment arriving by truck at an ACE enabled port without having transmitted advance cargo information to Customs by the time of arrival will not be able to cross into the U.S.