THE US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has hit out at the US Defence Department (DOD) for wracking up US$$823 million in charges for retaining shipping containers longer than allowed in Afghanistan, and called for an end to incomplete and inaccurate container data.
The congressional agency's report said that the DOD remains hamstrung by container management inefficiencies, resulting in detention fines, reports the American Shipper.
"Container management has been a long-standing challenge," the GAO said. "DOD has paid detention fees of about $823 million from 2003 through 2012 for retaining containers longer than allowed," mostly due to Central Command's activities in Afghanistan.
Since 2012, the DOD has made a concerted effort to better manage commercial containers.
The detention fees result from not only the "untimely return of commercial carrier-owned shipping containers in Afghanistan, but [the department's] ability to manage and reduce these fees is limited by inaccurate and incomplete data."
In August 2012, the DOD set the requirement that within 15 days of a shipping container's arrival: receipt of the container must be recorded by the unit in the overseas location; the container must be unloaded; and the responsible carrier must be notified that its container is available for pick up.
The department also developed a set of tracking metrics to monitor progress in meeting this requirement.
"However, incomplete and inaccurate data about the location and number of containers accruing detention fees hindered DOD's ability to manage and reduce detention fees for containers in Afghanistan," GAO reported.
GAO recommended that the Defence Department develop a list of recommendations and incorporate them into policy and guidance, identify "root causes for procedural weaknesses" that cause inaccurate or incomplete container data and develop and implement a corrective plan.
CONTAINER
28 November 2014 - 12:34
Pentagon's container mismanagement results in US$823 million in fines
THE US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has hit out at the US Defence Department (DOD) for wracking up US$$823 million in charges for retaining shipping containers longer than allowed in Afghanistan, and called for an end to incomplete and inaccurate container data.
CONTAINER
28 November 2014 - 12:34
Pentagon's container mismanagement results in US$823 million in fines
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