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U S Customs has announced a July 12 deadline for compliance with Trade Act of 2002 advance manifest requirements for rail imports into the US. The requirement is for railroads to submit manifest data to U S Customs Rail AMS system at least two hours prior to train arrival at the US border entry point. Specific information is required including, among other data, actual shipper and consignee, as well as specific commodity data. We have reviewed capabilities of the Customs Rail AMS system and our own rail billing process in light of the requirements. Customs Rail AMS currently cannot handle house B/L data from rail carriers, and only one bill of lading per container can be handled in Customs Rail AMS system. OOCL is currently passing actual shipper and consignee/notify party info from our bill of lading as part of our rail billing process to CN & CP, along with the commodity description. In cases of multiple B/Ls per container, we will pass this info from the first bill of lading. We believe we are in compliance with the requirements and the capability that currently exists within Customs Rail AMS. We do not expect any enforcement activities on July 12 due to the announced requirements. This is based on discussions with our rail partners and U S Customs. Please be guided accordingly and do not hesitate to contact your local OOCL office should you need further assistance regarding this rule.
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