Before & After The Terror
The blow that rocked America on September 11 divided transportation into two eras:
before and after.
OLIVER B. PATTON
WASHINGTON EDITOR
Before, vehicles were means of conveyance. Now they are potential weapons of mass destruction.
For trucking, the impact was immediate and widespread. Customs officials went on high alert. As inspections intensified, trucks lined up at border crossings, shipments were delayed and just-in-time delivery systems were scrambled. Some fuel retailers tried to take advantage of confusion by jacking up rates.
Trucking companies and shippers reviewed their security systems and began making adjustments. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shifted its focus to security, deploying its field staff to alert some 30,000 hazardous materials haulers in face-to-face meetings. Working with the FBI, the agency began a review of 2.5 million drivers licensed to haul hazmat. The agency also began drafting rules that will tighten driver scrutiny, and Congress introduced legislation that will create a new federal office of transportation security.
And that's just in the first month.
Over the next several years, trucking managers will have to find new ways of doing business. While the initial freight interruptions have smoothed out, new security costs have been introduced to the system — as much as $20 billion a year, according to Robert Delaney of Cass Information Systems and ProLogis.
Risk management now has a new meaning. Suppose, for horrible example, the terrorists had hijacked one or more of your trucks and exploded them in a coordinated attack. Could your company survive such a thing? How? What must you do to protect yourself and the public? What help do you need from the government, from your customers and consignees — your insurers?
In the long run, the answers will be found in changes to our national transportation system — which not coincidentally is the biggest single entity in a global transportation network.
Stephen E. Flynn, a U.S. Coast Guard Commander and fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations, says that the system itself is open to exploitation by terrorists. In 1999, 475 million people, 125 million vehicles, and 21.4 million import shipments crossed U.S. borders. "Intercepting the ripples of danger in this tidal wave of commerce is about as likely as winning a lottery," Flynn wrote in Foreign Affairs magazine last year.
After the attack, he wrote in the New York Times: "We are now experiencing the dark side of a transport system in which efficiency has trumped public security."
The challenge is to stay secure without strangling commerce. Given enough inspectors and investigators, government could control the threat — but the price in terms of cost and restrictions on our way of life would be prohibitive.
Flynn advocates a broad-based alternative. Countries need to make the global distribution system more secure, so it is not a conduit for terrorists. Shippers and carriers need to create better information systems, tracking freight so that customs and other officials can conduct "virtual" shipment audits. And border agencies — our first line of defense — need more people, better intelligence and better data management.
FOCUS ON DRIVERS
In fact, the moves that will add up to these systemic changes are under way. The U.S. government is moving to close gaps in trucking security, starting with drivers.
In the works are tougher federal guidelines for the driver licensing process, criminal and immigration background checks for new hires, and possibly fingerprint identity on the CDL.
Rules that disqualify scofflaw drivers and tighten state procedures are due by year-end. Over the next year or so, look for tougher controls over third-party CDL testing and stricter requirements for English proficiency, according to Julie Anna Cirillo, chief safety officer at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Concern about licensing was underscored by a case of CDL fraud in Pennsylvania reported shortly after the attacks. A number of men of Middle Eastern descent were alleged to have obtained licenses and hazmat endorsements illegally, although none of them has been tied to the events in New York and Washington.
Ironically, that incident pointed to a strength in the system, according to Cirillo. She said the fraud was uncovered in a sting operation conducted by Pennsylvania, which has one of the better CDL watchdog programs. She said a Pennsylvania DOT employee — identified in the Philadelphia Inquirer as Robert Ferrari — has been indicted on charges of selling licenses and endorsements.
The attacks are driving renewed interest in driver background checks. At a transportation security hearing in the Senate, senators and witnesses alike said they want trucking companies to conduct broader checks.
Many companies check driver histories now, through a variety of means, but because of legal restrictions they generally do not have access to data from the National Criminal Information Center. Trucking interests say this restriction hampers the scope of background checks — although it is well understood that an NCIC check alone will not provide complete security. As FMCSA Administrator Joseph Clapp told the Senate, an NCIC check would not have exposed the suicide bombers in the Sept. 11 attacks.
The safety agency is working on ways to give employers access to a variety of federal sources, such as visa information, FBI records and NCIC, Cirillo said.
She is not ready to say how the system would work. Right now, industries that do have access to NCIC work through a third party. The airlines, for example, place their information requests with the Federal Aviation Administration, while banks use the American Banking Assn. as an intermediary. Either way, the employer pays the costs.
American Trucking Assns. has long sought the role as trucking's intermediary.
It is possible that state licensing agencies will play an expanded role in the checking process. Dave Osiecki, vice president of safety and operations at ATA, explained that in almost all states, the licensing offices already check the CDL Information System, the National Driver Register and the Social Security number when they sign up an applicant. It would be relatively easy to add NCIC, the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the FBI's suspected terrorist list to that check, Osiecki said.
Sen. John Breaux, D-La., and others suggested that background checks be mandatory. Cirillo said the safety agency is considering a permissive system. "If the system makes sense, most carriers will use it," she said — and that narrows the target for enforcement.
There remains a disconnect between industry and government on another important security tool — whether or not a trucking company can answer inquiries about a driver who has applied for a job elsewhere. According to ATA Chairman Duane Acklie, companies cannot answer in detail for NEWr that they will be accused of violating privacy rights. Cirillo, on the other hand, said that employers are legally shielded from that risk.
According to Osiecki of ATA, the law does contain a "hold harmless" clause, but employers will not feel comfortable until they have a rule that defines what is permissible. So far, FMCSA has not proposed such a rule.
Meanwhile, trucking companies are doing what they have to do.
"We've tightened down our hiring process," said Dick Carr, vice president of safety and risk management at Quality Distribution, a major tank line based in Tampa, Fla.
"We've gone from what we would deem a shallow criminal investigation to a deep criminal investigation," he said.
Quality, which runs about 4,000 tanks, is starting to use photo ID badges for all drivers and other personnel.
While other fleets report that their customers are pressing for photo ID or other means of driver identification, FMCSA is considering requiring a biometric identifier, such as a fingerprint, on the CDL. The idea has been around since the CDL was created, but according to Cirillo the agency is working on a proposal that is due in "a couple of months."
In the past there has been opposition to an identifier requirement on grounds of privacy, but people recognize that a change may be due. Todd Spencer, executive vice president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Assn., said the ID has always "smacked of big brother — but Sept. 11 puts the issue in a different light."
Jerry Easom, director of corporate security at American Freightways, Harrison, Ark., said a biometric ID would help. Truck drivers move around a lot, and the ID would help keep track of them, he said.
VULNERABILITIES
The scope and damage of the Sept. 11 changed perceptions of the terrorist threat, but security experts have long understood our vulnerability.
Large, well-capitalized trucking companies have built security systems to guard against cargo theft, that now double as protection against terrorism. Easom said that American Freightways personnel are on alert for warning signs — people shopping for used equipment, for example — but the company has not had to make big adjustments in its systems.
And truck renting and leasing companies stepped up their security standards after the 1993 truck bombing of the World Trade Center, and in the 1995 attack in Oklahoma City.
Peter Vroom of the Truck Renting and Leasing Assn., said that personnel at rental counters are instructed to request picture identification, to be familiar with the history of the customer, and be wary of cash payment.
One particular concern right now is the security of small- and medium-sized trucking companies. According to D.C. attorney Ken Siegel, many of these outfits probably have "zero" security, other than what they can get through the licensing system — and common sense.
Park in a secure location, keep an eye on your truck, don't leave the engine idling (added benefit: save fuel), don't disclose your cargo or destination. (More advice on how to improve your security follows starting on page 32.)
Congress and the Department of Transportation are paying particular attention to security at maritime ports.
"Ports are a very big threat level and everyone, including terrorists, knows it," says Stephen Campbell, executive director of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance.
Look for greatly increased security in and around ports, including restricted access, identification systems for drivers — perhaps including fingerprinting — inspections, and new screening equipment. Legislation ordering these and other measures has been introduced in Congress.
Technology will play a big role in port security. As Flynn of the Council on Foreign Relations points out, shippers, carriers and enforcement officials need to be confident about the contents of containers. This will require transparent information systems and better container tracking. In the meantime, the Coast Guard is requiring 96-hour pre-notification of arrival for all ships, so it has time to prepare for the inspection.
Also look for changes along our land borders. Mexico remains a question mark, with Congress still arguing over the terms of opening the border to long-distance trucking. But Canada, our largest trading partner, presents even more challenges.
Each day, more than $1 billion worth of goods crosses the U.S.-Canada border — about 70% by truck, according to the National Assn. of Manufacturers.
Customs staffing to handle this flow is woefully inadequate, said Flynn. While U.S.-Canada trade has tripled, the number of customs and immigration inspectors remains at pre-NAFTA levels, he said.
Flynn others are calling for more people and more technology to secure the Canadian border — particularly in light of Canada's relatively easy immigration restrictions.
A great deal has happened since the world of transportation changed on Sept. 11. Congress has made billions available for security. New laws and regulations are in the mill. Companies and industry groups are gathering to discuss issues and solutions.
And as anthrax-tainted letters are delivered, it is apparent that the threat continues.
"It is a very dangerous situation," said Jerry Easom of American Freightways. "Lives can be lost. Now that security has been tightened at airports, terrorists are looking for delivery systems for weapons of mass destruction."
Sept. 11 showed our deficiency, Easom said. "We had a false sense of security.
"But when we come back completely we will be stronger than we were."
More Coping With Crisis
Hazmat Safety
• Fast Facts on Drivers
Insurance Recovery Shattered
Wheels of Hope
• Dumps To Ground Zero
• Going A Mile For America
• From Victims To Victims
Builders Hunker Down
• Used Trucks
Staying The Course
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