Air transportation security in global sourcing and shipments

Airline Security

Air security has changed and has impacted shipments and has been impacted since increased security since 9/11 the attacks of September 11, 2001, on the United States (9/11) wereintended to cause harm in several ways: fatalities and casualties among innocent, disturbance of the air transport system, and negative economic impacts. Aviation plays an important role in the economic prosperity of the U.S.: it links communities and countries together for business and leisuretravelers, is a means for shipping goods, and it employs millions ofAmericans.Unfortunately, the aviation industry was already in a difficult condition before 9/11. Many airlines have recently faced bankruptcy and almost all eported net losses in the billions. Layoffs have become a means to reducethe operating costs of airlines. High fuel prices, rising insurance costs, and the added costs of ensuring security have all contributed to the troubledcondition of the aviation industry.The paper provides a perspective on the effect of the increased airline security and costs on the logistics of shipping.

Shipping and:Logistics

In the transportation and logistics sector, competition is tough, and customers are getting pickier. However, the costs will get higher with the new increased airline security. But cargo was not given the same level of scrutiny, and lawmakers such as Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, R-Tex., and Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., have repeatedly remarked that passengers wait in long security lines only to board aircraft which contain belly cargo that has not been screened. Markey has proposed legislation calling for widespread screening of belly cargo. The TSA outlined a new cargo security plan late last year, and is weeks away from issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking on new cargo security rules. (Karp, 2004)

But even with permanent regulations still contemplated, the agency has issued a number of interim directives and airlines have already started taking action. Northwest Airlines, for example, warned forwarders that it will be spot-checking cargo and will open packages it deems suspicious.Instead, airlines, shippers and forwarders will be given a great deal of responsibility for various screening functions and the TSA will conduct regular audits to ensure rules are being followed. and, as long as Congress passes no new laws, the TSA is not aiming to screen all cargo, or even all belly cargo.

In response, companies are using technology to create nimbler workforces, enhance customer service, and personalize services. All the while, they're making hard choices about which projects get funded and which don't. Last month, FedEx introduced software that lets customers print jobs directly from Microsoft Office on their PCs to any of the 1,200 Kinko's stores -- then FedEx delivers the jobs to clients. FedEx bought the copy-shop chain for $2.4 billion earlier this year. Meanwhile, FedEx is changing its distribution systems to support the smaller loads that customers are shipping and to keep up with international growth that's adding the most to the company's profits. At UPS, making drivers' schedules more precise could save $600 million a year in fuel costs and drivers' time by 2007, VP of engineering Mark Hopkins predicts. The company is rolling out a computer system called "package flow technologies" that aims to make UPS's delivery business more efficient. With 13.6 million packages and documents delivered daily, there are lots of steps to tighten up. Using history, forecasts, and information about missed deliveries to pick the best routes, the system plots all of a driver's stops for the day onto a portable computer. Drivers get an electronic list of all their packages and stops in order, and workers who load the trucks also get a more precise plan. If it works, the system could save UPS 100 million driving miles a year, which translates into 14 million gallons of pricey gas.