Time Release Study says handling period is nearly a quarter of the time seen previously
Clearance times for sea and air cargo appear to have plummeted given the latest The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (ACBPS) data.
Customs’ time release study (TRS), which measured clearance performance for air and sea cargo entering Australia in the week of September 24-30, 2013.
“For the first time, sea cargo consignments were cleared nearly two and a half hours prior to arrival, an improvement of more than six hours compared to previous years,” the organisation reports.
“Similarly, air cargo consignments were cleared for entry approximately three and a half hours after arrival, a five hour improvement from 2012 and the biggest improvement since 2007.”
The gains were largely due to early reporting by industry, which 71 per cent of cargo to now be released by the time it is physically available.
The study also found a substantial increase in air cargo and sea cargo volumes in 2013, continuing an upward trend in cargo volumes since 2007.
“This report demonstrates that we are continually evolving and improving processes to meet the demands of a growing cargo industry, while performing our role of protecting the community from the import of dangerous and illegal goods,” ACBPS CEO Michael Pezzullo sys.
“We have a number of systems in place to support and facilitate the legitimate flow of goods into Australia and new schemes in development, such as the Trusted Trader scheme.”