Features Breakbulk & Project Cargo
Swarm chasers
Penalties for cargo packing pests add to project shipper woes
By Laura Robb
Already strained by tariffs and economic uncertainty, US breakbulk and project cargo importers are increasingly adding hefty fines and the risk of re-exportation of cargoes to their list of financial anxieties with inspection enforcement by the US Customs and Border Protection( CBP) on the rise.
The wood packaging materials( WPMs) that are meant to protect project cargoes during their journey can be contaminated with pests. And that means importers face significant financial risks, including fines that can exceed seven figures and the potential re-exportation of shipments, which disrupts supply chains and inflates consumer prices.
During the US federal government’ s 2025 fiscal year that ended Sep. 30, the CBP issued 87,684 Agriculture Emergency Action Notifications( EANs), up 11.2 % from fiscal year 2024. Of those, 16,527 were related to pests, according to CBP figures. EANs alert trade entities of non-compliance with regulations of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service( APHIS), which is overseen by the US Department of Agriculture.
“ There was a big gap between when the shipment arrived and when we were actually notified.”
Torge Runge, senior operations manager of industrial projects and energy transport solutions in North America for logistics company Gebrüder Weiss, said a snail debacle cost the company upward of $ 70,000, after fumigation costs, terminal fees and storage charges.
While the fumigation was the most expensive line item, Runge told the Journal of Commerce a delay in the company being informed about the problem further contributed to increased demurrage and detention costs.
“ There was a big gap between when the shipment arrived and when we were actually notified what was going on with it,” Runge said.“ We lost almost a week there. We only had two days of free time, and after that, it got really expensive.”
Overall, Runge said additional transparency throughout the pest identification process between the regulatory bodies and shippers could be improved. To get any details on pests found in cargo, shippers need to submit a Freedom of Information Act( FOIA) request, a bureaucratic process that can take more than a month. In the meantime, project cargo forwarders are often left with the bill.
‘ Limited options’
When an import shipment is considered to be at risk for pest contamination— which is usually dictated by commodity and origin— the cargo is often targeted by CBP for an inspection. If pests are found, importers have limited options for next steps depending on the nature of the pest, the commodity, packaging and the regulatory response— usually leading to direct and indirect financial losses for multiple parties.
“ If pests are detected, CBP takes immediate action to prevent their introduction: quarantine, treatment, re-exportation or destruction, and notification,” CBP media relations specialist Rusty Payne told the Journal of Commerce.
CBP works in conjunction with other entities— such as the Department of Agriculture’ s( USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service( APHIS)— to find pests in cargo. CBP serves as the frontline defense, while APHIS provides the technical and regulatory framework to guide pest management efforts, Payne told the Journal of Commerce.
While some instances of pests can be solved stateside with costly fumigation services, others require affected cargo to be returned to its origin entirely.
“[ Re-exportation ] is just a net loss,” said Kenneth Western, CBP’ s chief agriculture specialist at the Houston Seaport.“ There’ s no money made by the customer... they don’ t have a product to re-sell, and the US government doesn’ t get the duty.”
To avoid contamination, Western recommends shippers familiarize themselves with the risks associated with their
14 Journal of Commerce | December 2025 www. joc. com