What is E Manifest?
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Electronic manifests, or “emanifests”, are electronic documents that detail the contents of your cargo. This manifest includes details on material goods, livestock, and passengers, and is required for crossing into the United States and will soon be required for Canadian border crossings as well. Emanifests were introduced as part of the Automated Commercial Environment.
The Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) is a program created through the partnership of the governments of the United States and Canada with input and guidance from leaders in the transportation industry. The ACE program has led to the creation of electronic procedures that allow carriers to file information quickly and easily with the appropriate border authorities and provides access to the information that the governments maintain. For instance, a carrier can see when one of their trucks arrived at the border and how long it had to wait in the processing station before it was allowed (or denied) entry.
Electronic manifests are part of ACE and are submitted to the border authority while the truck is still in route. The driver presents their emanifest cover sheet to the border agents who then use the information on that sheet to retrieve the full emanifest. Once the emanifest has been recovered, the agent will be able to begin the border crossing procedure.
Electronic manifests have drastically reduced the amount of time required for most shipments to cross the border. As of July, 2011, entry processing wait times have been reduced as much as 41% for most common shipments. In addition to reducing wait times, electronic manifests reduce the amount of paperwork that drivers have to handle. Most of the work is now performed at the home office or by a third party service provider.
Electronic manifests can be submitted to the appropriate authorities using secure data portals, third party software that utilizes those portals, or by using the websites appropriate to either the Canadian Border Patrol or the United States Border Patrol. Each emanifest has a minimum of 70 data points that must be completed before the document will be considered valid and accepted by the emanifest server. While handling and submitting emanifests becomes easier as users learn the system, the process can still be very time-consuming for mid to large size fleets consisting of many vehicles.
What is E Manifest
In order to ensure the accuracy and timely filing and tracking of emanifests, many carriers are utilizing third party transportation consultants. The consultant can receive information about loads and routes and submit the appropriate information on behalf of the carrier. The accepted manifest cover sheet is then forwarded to the driver and the consultant will then audit the arrival and departure times at the border crossing. If any discrepancies are found in the emanifest submission, the consultant will assume responsibility for correcting them.
Unlike most security procedures that went into place after the September 11 attacks, emanifests have actually improved efficiency as well as security. Drivers can now enjoy shorter wait times at border crossings and carriers have access to more information about the status and location of their assets. Emanifests are currently required for all shipments into the United States and will soon be required for Canada as well.
Related articles
- Canada announces eManifest compliance timeline (pstc.ca)
