FedEx and the “Express Consignment Facility”

This week I had the pleasure of taking a field trip with some of my FIT students to Federal Express in Newark, New Jersey. Referred to as “ECO,” which stands for East Coast Overlay, this facility is one of six regional sort operations in the U.S., with the others being in Indianapolis, IN, Memphis, TN, Miami, FL, Oakland, CA, and Anchorage, AK.

It is through these centers that all foreign freight is “cleared” for US Customs and other federal agencies, such as US Fish and Wildlife (US F&W) and the Food and Drug Administration. Not only does US Customs have an office on-site at ECO but I likewise met a US F&W inspector while there who mentioned inspecting live animals and getting the typical declaration for items with mother of pearl.

US Customs designates these regional sort operations as “hubs,” which are bonded warehouses permitted to handle international cargo. The regulations overseeing hub operations are under the “Express Consignment Facility” regulations found at 19 CFR Part 128.

We were given a tour of both ECO’s domestic and foreign freight operations, as well as the offices of FedEx Trade Networks, its on-site customs clearance operation. Interestingly, they have licensed customs brokers and, individuals working under their direction, to prepare and file entry summaries, which by definition, is done on behalf of the importer. They have high-tech software that allows for a quick tariff determination by way of “clicking” your way through the subheadings, which is done based on the invoice and other shipping records which are scanned in at the point of sale overseas. The oddity with FedEx’s clearance operation, however, which admittedly, I forgot to ask about, is as follows.

The shipper, by virtue of going to FedEx in say, Germany, pays for the service and directs FedEx to provide the customs clearance services so that the end recipient, aka, the importer and/or consignee here in the US, can receive the package at its address, as delivered by FedEx' domestic carriers.

Customs brokers, however, must have a valid power of attorney to engage in “customs business,”which includes the filing of entry papers, on behalf of the importer. It therefore begs the question – how is it possible that FedEx clears these shipments when it does not have a valid power of attorney (authorizing the broker to clear the cargo on behalf of the importer) for every domestic recipient of foreign cargo? This is a question I did not get a chance to ask as mentioned above. Perhaps they do have one after all for every importer in accordance with the regulations, though I would be interested to know how that is obtained given the express nature of FedEx.

Express consignment facilities are recognized as hubs by US Customs because it is through these that foreign cargo destined for other foreign locations gets sorted through. That is, cargo arrives on the inbound flight from a foreign location, which in the case of ECO would likely be from Charles de Gaulle Airport in France, and is placed on an outbound flight to a different foreign location.

As all cargo is listed on the airplane’s manifest, it is at these hubs that US Customs comes through, examining the manifest in search of anything suspect – be it the cargo itself, the foreign destination, etc. - and despite the cargo not being “entered,” or attempted to be entered into the US, as it has a final destination with a foreign address and it is just passing through the U.S. for logistical purposes, all cargo at an express consignment facility is “fair game” for inspection, detention, or seizure, as it is on U.S. soil.

Typically, a “suspect” shipment is one where contraband may be found, or where an allegation of a counterfeit or trademark violation exists, such as with a shipment of cell phones or other electronic devices. Any hint of a violation, and the cargo gets detained. ECO even had a designated US Customs holding cage for cargo that US Customs flagged for further investigation.

According to our tour guide, one of three licensed customs brokers in the Regulatory Compliance and Clearance office of ECO, FedEx’ relationship with US Customs is very good and that they work very closely with US Customs to further its mandates with regards to imports.

Remember, US Customs has free reign to inspect all cargo at any hub, whether it is destined for importation into the US or not. As most foreign cargo is routed through a FedEx regional sort operation while en route to its ultimate foreign destination, this is something to keep in mind when choosing an express courier from a foreign country.

Questions/comments? Post below or email me at clark.deanna@gmail.com