Expect tighter security in many different areas. That was the word delivered to transportation intermediaries at the annual convention of the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA) in Anaheim, CA in March.
Attendees were told that the trucking industry will feel a tightening from new Homeland Security regulations with regard to cargo entering the country, and traveling along the highways of North America. For instance, the "freight all kinds" rate status is expected to be replaced with classifications that specifically define the cargo.
Driver checks will tighten and shippers and brokers are being advised to do tighter checks of the carriers with whom they are doing business. In the last year, more than 10,000 carriers have gone out of business.
"It is at times like these that the services of transportation intermediaries are especially important to shippers," stated Larry Johanson, president of Johanson Transportation Service. "When vital attention to detail is paramount, the professionals at Johanson go the extra mile on behalf of our shipping clients.
"In these times, we are especially aware of the new security issues and the need for vigilance. We are particularly cognizant of what it takes for a carrier to successfully pick up goods, transport them effectively and in a timely manner and deliver them securely. We combine a professional staff with state-of-the-art technology to give our customers assurance of performance, regardless of the challenges."
Supply chains will also be affected by increased security in a terrorist-alert world. Opportunities for tampering with products as well as the vehicles that transport them must be eliminated.
Transportation security officials are also trying to keep trucks moving during emergency situations. TIA members were told that the government wants to avoid trucks being locked down, the way airplanes were, after 9/11.
