Security first, politics second
Brandon Fried, a veteran with almost 40 years of experience under his belt, is a key industry player and the voice of the USA’s air cargo forwarders. He took over an Airforwarders Association mandate for the first time in the year 2000, and became executive director in 2005. In a conversation with ITJ airfreight editor Andreas Haug he looked at the industry’s situation in the USA and its overall prospects.
Mr Fried, you live and breathe airfreight. Can you tell us briefly just what the Airforwarders Association does?
We’re the legal and regulatory lobby group for freight forwarders in the USA that handle mainly airfreight, but not exclusively. Well, as you know this field of logistics has faced some of its biggest challenges in the USA over the past few years, with air cargo safety and security and the co-loading of freight on passenger aeroplanes just two of the issues. This is where our work starts, which we not only carry out on Capitol Hill in Washington, but also in the various governmental authorities.
What role did your association play in the context of the introduction of the Air Cargo Advance Screening programme (Acas)?
We supported the initiative from the very beginning, that is to say after the attempted attack launched from Yemen in 2010. We always pointed out, however, that comprehensive screening won’t provide complete security. What we really need to be able to garner a complete picture of a consignment are answers to the questions of who is the shipper and who is the recipient? So we’re pleased that these new standards have been introduced. They were first tested and proved in a voluntary pilot programme.
Has it proved itself for forwarders?
Our main concern is that forwarders have the opportunity to access the data as early as possible in the shipping process, as sometimes this information is available in the USA days before the actual physical transport begins.
Acas was just the first of a whole number of regulatory measures to improve airfreight security in the USA in 2018. What impact did the re-authorisation of the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) have on the industry?
Congress’ re-authorisation of the FAA was signed into law by the US president at the beginning of October, just before Tiaca’s Air Cargo Forum in Toronto. The law simultaneously included the first re-authorisation of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), established in 2001. One of the substantial points therein is the extension of the term of the TSA’s administrator from four to five years. Up until now this mandate was synchronised with the US president’s, who could thus simply nominate a person who he trusted to head this authority. We didn’t consider this the right approach, as we believe national security interests should take precedence over political considerations.
What other aspects of the bill will have pleased airfreight operators in particular?
Well, first of all the TSA division that specialised in airfreight activities, which was closed a few years ago for reasons that we could never really understand, was rejuvenated and is now headed by an expert with experience in this field.
Another important point, which we’ve already advocated for many years, is the possibility of deploying sniffer dogs managed by private service providers in the monitoring process. What private enterprise can do is very impressive and sometimes even goes above and beyond the TSA’s standards.
Relations between US freight forwarders and the government and the authorities would thus appear to be quite relaxed. What about airfreight forwarders’ relations with airlines?
I’d characterise them as a cooperative partnership. We collaborate closely with Iata, Airlines for America, the umbrella association of US airlines, as well as others. We fill their aeroplanes and are their customers. Every party does what it does best, which is why the airlines won’t replace the forwarders.