Study: Cargo Transport Firms Say Security Could Be Better

Many cargo transportation providers have implemented homeland security strategies, new research shows, but few would rate industry performance as excellent in any specific security area. For example, just 14% of industry executives questioned in the survey rated the industry's performance as excellent when it comes to conducting background checks. For security measures that include physical security and cargo inspection, between 2% and 9% gave the industry performance an excellent grade. The study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Statistics and Research Center and Deloitte & Touche USA LLP surveyed 103 executives representing the air cargo, maritime, rail, logistics and trucking industries. Other key findings:

• More than 80% of executives expect their firms to increase spending on physical security at facilities over the next 12 months.
• The air cargo (84%) and maritime (70%) sectors were viewed as the most vulnerable areas in the industry.
• 47% said they would increase rates to fund security initiatives.

In addition, "A majority of the survey respondents indicated that federal security mandates pose a tremendous financial as well as operational challenge for their organizations," says Christina Steinman, national director of Deloitte's Aviation & Transport Services Industry Practice. "Outsourcing to third-party vendors to meet security requirements was cited as one solution for overcoming this challenge. While that may be a short-term strategy to manage risk and mitigate costs, in the long run the industry still needs to be focused on initiatives to increase efficiency across the entire supply chain."