Wood Pallets, Crates, or Boxes? Avoid Unexpected Costs at the Border!

On September 16, 2005, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) implemented a plan to enforce the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) import regulation for wood packaging material (WPM). The rule requires WPM, such as pallets, crates, and boxes, used in international trade to support or brace cargo, to be treated to prevent the introduction of harmful insects to U.S. agriculture and to natural, cultivated, and urban forests resources.

The IPPC standard calls for most WPM to be either heat treated or fumigated with methyl bromide in accordance with the guidelines and marked with an approved international mark certifying that treatment. To certify treatment, the WPM must be marked with the approved International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) logo. Unmarked WPM will be considered untreated and non-compliant.

IPPC logo

Immediate export of all shipments containing violative WPM will be ordered if the Port Director determines that it is not feasible to separate merchandise from the violative WPM. The U.S. regulation for WPM does not allow for treatment at the ports. It does not allow for any alternative
disposal methods. It only allows for the immediate export of the non-compliant WPM.

More information from the US Customs and Border Patrol on wood packaging material regulation, exemptions, and enforcement, may be found here and below.

Importation of Wood Packaging Materials Published in the Federal Register on September 16, 2004

Guidelines for Liquidated Damages and Penalties on Wood Packing Material (WPM)

Other Useful Resources

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)

For any questions or concerns regarding the requirements for WPM, please visit the APHIS Web site below or call APHIS’ toll-free number at (866) 738-8197. International callers who may not have access to the toll-free number may call (301) 734-5346.

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s information on import wood packaging materials: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/plant_imports/wood_packaging_materials.shtml

What does all this mean to me?

It means that if you are using wood packaging material be aware of the possibility that the USDA may do an exam on your container. The exam is to check the “wood packing material” (crates) for the “chop” or “mark” of the company that fumigated the WPM. Even though the crates were fumigated, the marking with country origin, etc. on the crates is what they will look for.

Total for a USDA PPQ (Plant & Quaratine) Exam will run you in the neighborhood of $400. Ensure that your manufacturer is aware and follows the WPM regulations. Failure to abide by these rules can result in great expense once the container arrives in a US port. All expenses incurred for the services of CBP Officers and Agriculture Specialists involved in the separation of cargo will be billed to the importer or other party of interest. WPM and associated merchandise will be exported at the expense of the importer or other party of interest. Ship SAFE, Ship SMART.

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dylan@sourcejuice.com // Dylan Blankenship

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Comments

5 Responses to “Wood Pallets, Crates, or Boxes? Avoid Unexpected Costs at the Border!”

George Stermer on January 17th, 2008 2:22 pm

I’ve been in contact with a manufacturer in China.
They are willing to ship a sample to us to evaluate a quality comparison with the products we are currently using from a Chinese competitor.
The price to us from them is $183.00 and they can ship to us via UPS. (the weight is under 10 pounds) Can you give me an idea of the additional costs involved, so we can get a picture of what our overall cost will be to recieve the light fixtue in Long Island, NY (Greenlawn, NY 11740)

Thank You, george Stermer
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