DHS, State Dept. Directed to Devise Plans to Guard Against Supply-Chain Disruption

This story appears in the Jan. 30 print edition of Transport Topics.

President Obama last week directed the departments of State and Homeland Security to develop a plan to protect against interruptions in the international supply chain.

The White House on Jan. 25 released a “National Strategy for Global Supply Chain Security,” which gives officials from those departments six months to make recommendations on how to spot risks and make commercial infrastructure more resilient.

“Disruptions to supply chains caused by natural disasters — earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions — and from criminal and terrorist networks seeking to exploit the system or use it as a means of attack can adversely impact global economic growth and productivity,” Obama said in a letter.

“We must continue to strengthen global supply chains to ensure that they operate effectively in time of crisis, recover quickly from disruptions and facilitate international trade and travel,” Janet Napolitano, secretary of Homeland Security, said at a briefing in Davos, Switzerland, where she was attending the World Economic Forum, The Associated Press reported.

Terrorist attacks such as those on 9/11 or localized disruptions, such as recent plots involving air cargo shipments filled with explosives shipped via Europe and the Middle East to the United States, can hurt the U.S. or global economy.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina threatened or disrupted the U.S. oil and refining industry. The 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland led to flight cancellations on an almost global scale. The Japan earthquake and tsunami last year interrupted imports and exports and hurt the U.S. auto and other industries, costing jobs.

Speaking before the new policy was officially announced at the Transportation Research Board’s annual conference in Washington, a consultant and official with the Transportation Security Administration both praised the idea.

He noted that many countries already have similar policies in place, and most of these policies are nearly identical to standards previously adopted by the International Organization of Standardization.

John Sammon, TSA’s assistant administrator for transportation sector network management, said he was not aware of any details of the Obama administration’s proposal. However, he suggested final policies probably would resemble the supply chain im-provements many large carriers and shippers have crafted voluntarily while working in tandem with the government.

For example, Sammon credited Dow Chemical for being at the forefront of developing updated safety protocols for route management and the training of drivers involved in the transportation of toxic chemicals. They are also continually evaluating which types of vehicles reduce the risk of accidents or limit the possibility of being targeted by terrorists.

He said freight railroads’ willingness to ship toxic chemicals more often on Monday mornings than on Friday nights is a proven way to reduce the possibility of a terrorist attack. Other measures with small financial burdens but major security benefits he cited were routing changes around heavily populated cities and limiting the hours a railcar is left unattended.

Likewise, programs that in-crease inspections of cargo headed for passenger planes prior to arriving at airports are bringing together the entire supply chain to combat what has long been viewed as a serious security risk, Sammon added.

In a statement, the Retail Industry Leaders Association said it was “encouraged” by the focus on supply chain security.

“RILA and our members consider the safety and security of their supply chains an utmost priority and are committed to working with federal and state agencies and other stakeholders to make improvements,” said Kelly Kolb, vice president of government affairs.

Kolb said RILA wants to “find a constructive solution that enhances global supply chain security while not impeding the movement of goods.”

In his order, Obama directed department officials to confer with state, federal and international government agencies and private industry to identify areas that are most at risk and come up with layered defenses and tightened security steps to guard against disruptions.

The document released by the White House made no direct reference to strengthened cybersecurity, though it cites as one of its source documents the International Strategy for Cyberspace released in May.