New York, Nov. 2: It is an essential lubricant of the global economy — the multibillion-dollar air cargo industry, which every day carries millions of express packages of every shape and size around the world, parcels that can include things as diverse as an electronic component and a human body part.
But the discovery last week that terrorists had used United Parcel Service and FedEx to ship two explosive devices has set off a debate over what can be done to improve cargo security without damaging a business built on getting packages anywhere, quickly and cheaply.
The Obama administration is expected to announce measures soon to tighten the screening of air cargo, an area long viewed by experts as a weak link in post-9/11 security procedures. But several transportation experts say that placing a 100 percent screening requirement on cargo carriers — like the one that now exists for cargo placed on passenger airlines — would cause the system of express air delivery to grind to a halt.
Those experts note that most shipments carried by air — about 80 per cent — come from frequent customers who have longstanding relationships and security programs in place. The greatest risks, they say, involve “one-off” packages by random customers, like the recent explosive-laden shipments from Yemen headed to Chicago that initially eluded detection.
“You cannot stop the flow of time-sensitive air freight,” said Yossi Sheffi, the director of the Center for Transportation and Logistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “It is simply not realistic.” Officials at the Transportation Security Administration declined on Monday to discuss what new steps might be imposed. But aides on Capitol Hill said they expected Obama to demand inspection of “high risk” cargo.