While it is possible for a box to be flown from London to Chicago in only about eight hours, it can take another nine hours for a forwarder to actually get his or her hands on it at O'Hare Airport. O'Hare is in the crosshairs right now, due to some nasty traffic backups, with two to three dozen trucks waiting to access a limited amount of dock doors at the handling facilities (see story, page 24). Accordingly, many trucking companies now assess a US$20 "congestion surcharge" and require 24 hours advance notice for shipment recoveries at O'Hare's freight terminals. Once inside these warehouses, forwarders and trucking companies encounter inconsistently trained personnel, rude customer service, improperly maintained facilities and a lack of urgency in retrieving or processing shipments.
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