Carriers using the Peace Bridge to bring loads from Canada to the United States through Buffalo, N.Y., reportedly are breezing through more easily and in greater numbers than before, thanks to the U.S. Customs Pre-Arrival Processing System and the span’s Commercial Vehicle Processing Center.
According to the Peace Bridge Authority, CVPC, which opened on the Canadian end of the bridge at Fort Erie, Ontario, last November, has increased the percentage of carriers able to clear at primary inspection from 64% to 82%.
The Pre-Arrival Processing System, or PAPS, is a bar-code identification system that, among other things, provides information about cargo to customs brokers in the United States while the load is still in Canada. The PAPS bar code is applied to invoices and manifests. The paperwork is faxed to the broker, who in turn prepares an entry for the U.S. Customs Automated Commercial System so the cargo can enter the U.S.
When the cargo arrives at Customs’ primary truck lane, an inspector reads the bar-coded paperwork and receives an instant notice telling him whether the cargo needs to be examined.
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