Beware of ‘knee-jerk’ reaction following bomb scare

Airfreight organisations across the globe have warned against knee-jerk reactions following three bombs being found in the cargo holds of aircraft over the weekend of October 31. According to the British International Freight Association (BIFA) the issue of cargo safety requires attention to look at systems and procedures. “Though it must be stressed that there are already well-established, in-depth and organised processes in place,” said BIFA director general, Peter Quantrill. “It was a very serious issue but it would be wrong to suggest that airfreight is not treated in the same way as passengers when it comes to security.” Air cargo service providers fear demands for 100% scanning will produce an increasingly fierce if not impossible business environment. And all agree that screening each parcel is not practical, with figures from a Reuters report showing that UPS alone moves 15-million packages a day. Nicole Geerkens from the European Logistics Association (ELA) said logistics costs had already jumped up in recent years due to relocation of production plants to other areas in the world. “A big security focus might put the costs up further,” she added. Analysts have been quoted saying that logistics represents up to 15% of the value of goods, depending on the type of business and economy. That top-end limit fits in with SA costs, according to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) executive director Hans Ittmann. The council’s stats for 2008 (the latest available) showed the logistics costs as a percentage of the GDP was 14.7% (the lowest since the first survey in 2004) and down from 2007’s 15.9%.