Just about now, a team of inspectors will be touring the Monterrey plant of Carrier Mexico, S.A. de C.V., one of North America's largest manufacturers of air conditioning units for shopping malls, supermarkets, and factories. The inspectors are assessing whether the factory, which mostly ships to the United States, complies with tight guidelines for cargo security.

All being well, Carrier Corp.'s Mexican subsidiary will get the green light and a certificate of compliance will soon be on its way to Monterrey. Until the envelope arrives, though, Bernardo Rodarte won't be able to relax.

All certainly ought to be well, considering what Carrier Mexico's international sales and logistics manager and his colleagues have been going through. The current inspection is just one in a series of exams that should lead to certification under the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) program administered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

C-TPAT sets security standards that are intended to prevent terrorists from using international shipments to carry out attacks. It is a voluntary program, and companies that complete the certification process can expect to earn preferential treatment by Customs authorities. Since C-TPAT was announced in November 2001, nearly 10,000 companies have applied for membership. A little more than half of those applicants have been reviewed and certified so far, according to CBP, an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Rodarte's team labored through the spring and summer to prepare for the auditors' visits, implementing everything from surveillance cameras and swipe-card authorization to documentation controls for container seals.

But the first group of auditors isn't from C-TPAT—it's from the Business Anti-Smuggling Coalition (BASC). Established in 1996 to help stamp out narcotics smuggling in the Americas, BASC is a voluntary but very stringent security program led by private companies and supported by CBP. Since then, its role has expanded to include securing global supply chains against other threats, such as theft and terrorism.

Carrier Mexico is submitting to BASC's grueling certification process because it's ideal preparation for the C-TPAT audit. To be certified by both programs, moreover, will mark the company as being highly committed to national security. In today's uncertain trade environment, such a designation can be worth a great deal of time and money.

To many people along the southern border, C-TPAT is about getting approval to use the special FAST lanes that CBP is rolling out at ports of entry from California to Texas. FAST, the Free and Secure Trade program, uses risk management principles, industry partnerships, and advanced technology to improve supply chain security. C-TPAT members that receive authorization to use the FAST lanes will be able to cross the border quickly and with minimal attention from CBP.

Carrier Mexico ships some 4,500 truckloads of residential air conditioners and about 2,000 trailers and 3,500 flatbeds of commercial air conditioning and refrigeration equipment to the United States each year. The number of loads will rise considerably in 2006, when new regulations requiring more energy-efficient air conditioners go into effect. The redesigned units will be larger, and Rodarte estimates that change alone will increase northbound shipments by perhaps 20 percent.

Thus, the three to four hours to be saved per truck at the I-35 crossing in Laredo, Texas, is no small matter, especially for commercial refrigeration units. "Almost every commercial load that goes out has a time and a date we have to hit," Rodarte says. "Getting a 210-ton rooftop unit to Boise, Idaho, no later than 8:00 a.m. Tuesday can be quite challenging." Continued...

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