Replies

According to a cousin of mine in the trucking industry, they do not stay on the interstates because of the weigh stations.

Most drivers carry more than they should and also, if there are problems with the truck or trailer or container, don't want to be ticketed or taken off the road.

A lot of drivers will drive more hours than they should also according to my cousin, the reason being that time is money and they have deadlines that have to be met or else they will be docked by the company.

According to him, they simply pick up the containers which are sealed at the point of origin and they have no idea what is in them. They simply take them from the container storage yards to the destination. Nothing more.

He is starting to refuse to carry containers because they are not checked and he doesn't know what he will be carrying. He is concerned for his safety as well as that of others and he is losing money by doing this.

It's to bad that containers can't all be opened and examined when they arrive. It's easy to type up a Bill of Lading with false information. It's done all the time. Instead of 15,000 shirts there are 50 people living in a container to escape to or infiltrate the country.

Oh well!!!!!

It's to bad that containers can't all be opened and examined when they arrive.

Importers, especially electronics manufacturers, definitely don't share your disappointment. It would mean a massive increase in "shrinkage" of in-transit inventory. US Customs is increasingly moving to a known-shipper system whereby importers that voluntarily implement more procedural and security controls will be able to more easily import goods, leaving scrutiny to the other manufacturers. Search on C-TPAT for additional info.