Shippers, ocean carriers scramble to meet customs deadline

Computerworld - Beginning Feb. 2, the U.S. Customs Service will start fining shippers and ocean carriers that fail to comply with its Advance Manifest Regulation.
The regulation, also known as the "24-hour rule," requires shippers and ocean carriers that bring goods into the U.S. to electronically submit complete container manifest information to U.S. Customs through its Automated Manifest System (AMS) 24 hours before the container is loaded on a vessel.
With so many shippers and ocean carriers still conducting business via fax and phone, it's unclear how implementation of the new regulation will shake out -- even as the deadline for doing so quickly approaches.
Viviane Schiavi, senior policy manager for transport at the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), said ICC member companies, including Volkswagen AG, United Parcel Service Inc. and Neptune Orient Lines, believe efforts should be made to implement the 24-hour rule so that it doesn't add unnecessary costs and delays to the delivery of goods to the U.S.
Until now, exporters and freight forwarders typically faxed bill-of-lading, or manifest, information to carriers anytime from three days before a vessel sailed to seven days after it left, according to Jorge Estevez, vice president of pricing and yield management at Crowley Maritime Corp. in Oakland, Calif. That meant a carrier had approximately 10 days to receive the data, re-enter and reformat it and submit it to Customs.
Under the new rule, shippers will have to get the pertinent information to carriers at least 12 hours before the carriers have to submit it to Customs.
Estevez and John Gurrad, vice president of business planning and e-commerce at MOL America Inc. in Concord, Calif., said a portal for the ocean transportation industry such as GTN, operated by GT Nexus Inc. in Alameda, Calif., can help shippers, forwarders and carriers comply with the 24-hour rule.
GT Nexus President John Urban said GTN automates and standardizes transactions among shippers, forwarders and their ocean carriers. He said online tools already available at the GTN portal allow them to prepare and transmit key shipping documents.
Urban said the information required by the new regulation is contained within the shipping documents currently processed through the GTN system. In addition, he said the GTN platform is integrated with the back-office systems of a host of carriers, supporting rapid and timely transmission of the information over the AMS network to Customs.
GTN is already being used by more than 10 carriers, including MOL, Crowley, APL Ltd., Hanjin Shipping Co. and NYK Line. And other potential services or products are