Con-way Freight ready for eManifest program

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Con-way Freight says it’s ready for Canada’s advanced commercial information program for cross-border shipments.

The Ann Arbor, Mich.-based less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier has announced it is fully operational with Canada Border Services Agency’s (CBSA’s) eManifest program, and hopes to take advantage of anticipated improved transit times for its cross-border shipments.

The eManifest electronic border clearance program is designed to aid in the identification of health, safety and security threats posed by commercial goods crossing the border.

In a press release, Con-way Freight’s manager of customs compliance, Melissa Mathew, said the company fully supports CBSA’s initiatives to improve security and transparency, and through eManifest, improve the efficiency of the border clearance process.

“We have worked very closely with the CBSA to help bring this program into implementation, and we are pleased to be an early adopter and among the first LTL trucking companies to go fully operational with eManifest,” she said.

Bruna Rados, director general of the CBSA’s eManifest and Major Projects Directorate, said the CBSA is very pleased that Con-way Freight has become an early adopter of eManifest requirements for highway carriers.

“Being an early adopter allows clients to benefit from more time to fine-tune business processes and correct problems before requirements become mandatory and regulations come into force,” she said. “The CBSA values the trade community’s commitment to partner in the development and implementation of programs to enhance the safety and security of Canadians and international trade.”

The eManifest program, the third phase of the Advance Commercial Information (ACI) program, is an electronic data interchange (EDI) and information management program under which the CBSA electronically receives product, shipper, consignee and carrier information for import shipments in a more complete and timely manner. The program enables border officials to examine more complete and accurate information about shipments being imported to Canada, early in the process while goods are in transit. The new system is designed to help border services officers process shipments of commercial goods more efficiently and effectively, so that when they arrive at the border, clearance delays are minimized or eliminated, while security protocols are maintained and enhanced.

Con-way Freight estimates that as eManifest becomes more fully utilized, its transit times into Canada could potentially accelerate by up to 25 percent.

Con-way Freight has been collaborating with the CBSA on EDI-based information programs since 2003. The company’s experience, as well as its strong relations with the customs broker community, enabled it to quickly transition to the eManifest program, helping more than 95 percent of Con-way Freight’s customers’ shipments to clear customs into Canada without issue. All of Con-way Freight’s facilities in Canada are bonded warehouses.

Following formal registration and testing on the platform last fall, Con-way Freight took eManifest service into full commercial operation on Jan. 17.The company is one of the few LTL carriers to be fully compliant at this early date. The CBSA has set an 18-month deadline for adoption and implementation under which all highway carriers must be compliant and transmitting cargo and conveyance data electronically using the eManifest system.