DHL and American Airlines Cargo prepare pharmaceutical shippers for US cargo screening mandates

· New US screening mandates going into effect on August 1
· Educating customers regarding 100% screening compliance

Bangalore, March 17, 2010 - DHL, the world's leading logistics company, in partnership with American Airlines Cargo is supporting pharmaceutical industry customers to prepare for the implementation of a new US regulation that foresees 100% piece level screening of cargo carried on passenger aircraft. With half a year to go before the regulation takes effect, which could cause major delays of shipments, both companies have started offering joint trainings to educate pharmaceutical customers on how best to comply with the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Certified Cargo Screening Program (CCSP).

The training includes discussion on the required process for becoming a Certified Cargo Screening Facility (CCSF). Facilities that volunteer to participate in the CCSP program will be able to tender cargo directly to a passenger air carrier or freight forwarder.

DHL and American Airlines Cargo’s first training session took place in Dallas, Texas, recently and strongly focused on the operational flow of cargo through the airline’s network, piece level screening and the impact to handling processes when the 100 percent screening mandates take effect. Participating customers were required to take the Security Sensitive Information (SSI) course prior to attending the training, as this would help ensure that the details of the program could be openly discussed. Both DHL Global Forwarding and American Airlines Cargo committed to strongly supporting the TSA’s program with technology investments for explosive trace detection (ETD) and annually recurrent training of all personnel working with the screening process.

“DHL’s partnership with American Airlines and the TSA is designed to provide important information to customers regarding the most efficient way to screen freight to meet the new mandates, while also meeting critical delivery deadlines,” said Gary Schultheis, Senior Vice President Airfreight DHL Global Forwarding, Americas. “As an outcome of this meeting, we strongly recommend that customers become certified to provide pre-screened shipments.”

“We are very pleased that DHL Global Forwarding is working with American Airlines and the TSA to educate customers toward a ‘best practice’ approach to preparing for the 100 percent screening mandates,” said Dave Brooks, president of American Airlines Cargo. “By putting the proper processes in place through the TSA’s CCSP program, shippers can ensure that their shipments are handled most efficiently at the airport—thus avoiding delays or unpleasant surprises next August.”

DHL has built up considerable health care logistics expertise over the years. Customers from the health care industry include large and medium sized pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies as well as clinical research organizations. They benefit from DHL’s business units working together to provide all aspects required to manage a global pharmaceutical supply chain; from inbound transport logistics to storage, to customs brokerage and network design, right through to the final mile. Based on DHL’s global presence and unrivalled transport infrastructure, the health care teams combine knowledge of import laws, regulatory insight and local expertise to design customized health care supply chains.


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Notes to the editor:
From August 1, 100% of cargo carried on passenger aircraft will be screened at the piece level. The TSA defines that “piece level cargo is the individual item within a shipment”. This could pose major obstacles regarding cut-off times and costs, as many shipments consist of several pieces that are wrapped or containerized/palletized, that need to be disassembled for screening and re-assembled afterwards. The CCSP was set up to maintain the integrity of a shipment throughout the supply chain and enable shippers to incorporate physical screening into the packing process.