A topic on every shipper’s mind is how the completion of the Panama Canal expansion will impact international maritime trade as new lanes open this year to accommodate more and larger cargo vessels that will be able to carry up to 13,000 TEUs. Along with increased traffic, the canal expansion will trigger new shipping routes, network configurations as well as new port development.
It will be interesting to see how U.S. and global companies take advantage of new shipping options and adjust their supply chain strategies to better serve their international markets, especially in the wake of continuing driver shortages here in the United States.
A major focus and topic of discussion for 2016 continues to be the Automated Commercial Environment, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection single-window interface platform that will eventually provide the trade with a faster and more paperless customs clearance environment. Customs had set a deadline of November 2015 for the ACE migration, but after long discussions with the trade and ACE programmers, it was decided to push this deadline forward to Feb. 28, 2016. Customs succeeded in the deployment of eBond and the Air AMS, although initially with some hurdles. Currently, the industry is able to transmit a handful of entry types using the new system, and certain government agencies with a vested interested in the customs clearance process have begun their pilot programs within ACE as well.
In 2016, the industry will move all customs clearance processes over to ACE. Customs’ goal is for all customs formalities to be migrated to ACE by Oct. 1, 2016. By the end of 2016, the industry will really begin to reap the benefits of this single-window platform.
Frank Guenzerodt, President and CEO, Dachser USA Air & Sea Logistics