The Homeland Security Department announced new rules Nov. 20 to require electronic manifests identifying freight shipped by truck, rail, plane and ship to be sent to Customs and Border Protection officials before the goods reach the border, The Associated Press reported.

The rules go into effect Dec. 5.

Customs now gets some advance information on cargo carried by plane, rail and truck. The information, though, is provided voluntarily and isn't always complete. Cargo declarations will no longer be allowed to arrive on paper with a shipment.

“They'll look for trends, and they'll look for red flags, such as mislabeled cargo or a record of past violations that might cause a container to be labeled high risk,” Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said in announcing the new rules.

Officials said the electronic information would be compared with law enforcement and commercial databases to target potentially dangerous shipments that need to be inspected.

Congress ordered the changes last year because of fears that terrorists could smuggle chemical, biological or nuclear weapons into the country. Customs officials say they can identify high-risk cargo by reviewing shipment data against the databases and in light of strategic intelligence.

Only a tiny percentage of air, rail and truck cargo is currently inspected.

Meanwhile, trucking groups say the rule could have an impact on just-in-time delivery that’s done mostly by trucks. A plant’s production schedule could be upset if shipments are delayed by as little as a half-hour.

In addition, delays may be caused by truckers who have to wait for clearance before they can leave with their freight – those delays, according to the Department of Transportation’s new hours-of-service rules, count against the 14 hours drivers can record as on-duty time before they must rest.

The new rules include:

• Information on cargo sent by truck would have to be provided at least 30 minutes before arrival.
• Information on freight coming long distance by cargo or passenger plane would have to be sent four hours before landing in the United States.
• Information on cargo coming from countries close to the United States – such as Mexico, Canada and countries in Central America and the Caribbean – would have to be provided soon after takeoff because flight times are shorter.
• Information on cargo arriving by rail would have to be provided two hours before arrival.