Security imperative boosts cargo screening market

The air cargo security and

screenings market is set to

grow annually by just over

5% over the next five years as

governments across the globe

increasingly call for 100%

screening.

That’s according to a

report by technology research

company Technavio titled

‘Global Air Cargo Security

and Screening Systems

Market 2015 to 2019', which

indicates a “significant” rise

in the adoption of newer,

more sophisticated screening

technologies.

Technologies for screening

large volumes of cargo have

entered the market recently,

along with more advanced

screening systems that help

identify and detect threats

faster and more effectively.

According to Technavio, key

screening systems currently

in use include those based

on X-rays, explosives trace

detectors (ETD) and electronic

data systems (EDS).

The report further points out

that more sophisticated systems

allow for a more flexible, riskbased

approach to security

and screening, as advocated by

Doug Brittin, secretary-general

of the International Air Cargo

Association (Tiaca).

“A risk-based approach takes

into account a wide range of

measures that can be applied

from the supply chain security

perspective,” he wrote in a blog

on the Tiaca website. “It is

based on analysis of the shipper

or supply chain for a number

of other issues, as opposed to

some of the more prescriptive

approaches such as 100%

screening.”

He pointed out that by

looking at risk, the security

and screening strategy could

be commodity-geographically

or even intelligence-driven. “A

lot of factors come into play

around the need for security

and screening and it is often not

necessary to screen every single

piece of cargo,” he said.