Truckers, Shippers Blast Customs Security Plan

img src="/sites/default/files/images/articles/printeditiontag_new.gif" width=120 align=right>WASHINGTON — Truckers and shippers blasted a new security proposal from the Customs Service, saying it would destroy current logistics practices and threaten just-in-time deliveries.

The proposed regulations, mandated by the Maritime Port Security Act of 2002, would require advance electronic information be sent to Customs as much as four hours before imports are loaded into a truck.

While a Customs official said final security procedures probably would be different from what the agency proposed originally, transportation industry representatives said any similar rules would produce crippling delays in the flow of goods.