TAPA ROLLS OUT TRUCK SECURITY STANDARDS

William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor | Nov 18, 2011 10:10PM GMT 
The Journal of Commerce Online - News Story

First global certification program aims to block high-value cargo theft

The Transported Asset Protection Association is rolling out global security standards for trucking and the first trucking security certification program for motor carriers and logistics service providers in the U.S. and abroad.
 
The program fills a gap in cargo security, the lack of international security standards and a certification program for the most ubiquitous mode of transportation. The program is aimed at transporters of high-value goods targeted by cargo thieves. 
 
Globally, 85 percent of all major cargo theft involves trucks, said Alan Spear, chair of TAPA Americas. He said theft costs businesses more than $10 billion a year worldwide, according to Bloomberg. In some countries, it’s increasingly violent and deadly to truck drivers.
 
TAPA’s security requirements are not voluntary, though shippers of high value goods may come to require certification from their trucking and logistics partners. The association’s members include manufacturers, retailers and carriers.
 
TAPA’s trucking security requirements provide for three levels of compliance, depending on the value of the cargo — TSR 1, 2 and 3. “TSR 1 is the strongest level,” Spear said. “It would be used for the most valuable and vulnerable cargo.”
 
For example, all three levels require two-way communications systems on board trucks. Only the highest level requires carriers to have detailed, documented trailer-tracking protocols and the ability to geofence routes and parking areas.
 
TAPA developed its requirements and certification with help from trucking operators and logistics providers in the U.S., Spear said, notably National Retail Systems, Hasbrouck Heights, N.J., and AFC Worldwide Express, Kennesaw, Ga.
 
John Tabor, director of corporate security for NRS, joined TAPA’s board of directors and will chair a committee on the trucking requirements. Training for the certification program’s auditors begins in December at AFC, said Spear.
 
Contact William B. Cassidy at wcassidy@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter at @wbcassidy_joc

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