US Testing recently purchased 15 of GE’s new Itemiser DX explosive trace detectors, which have been approved by TSA for use in air cargo screening. The sale is the first by GE of its DX system, which can analyze a wider range of potential threats than GE’s current explosive trace detector products.

Terms of the sale were not disclosed although the unit price for the DX ranges between $40,000 and $50,000 depending on options and quantities. There are additional DX procurements in the process from US Testing, Todd Swearingen, director of Aviation Security for GE’s Homeland Protection business, tells TR2.

Swearingen says that prior to the February 2009 50 percent screening mandate there had been an uptick in demand for GE’s trace detection products but right now it’s gone back to a “wait and see” approach.

The technologies that TSA has certified for air cargo screening include the trace detectors, X-Ray systems used at airport checkpoints to scan carry-on bags, explosive detection systems (EDS) used at airports to scan checked baggage, and some larger systems to screen palletized cargo.

US Testing’s customers in the air cargo screening market typically purchase an X-Ray machine and a trace detector, Carpenter says. The smaller forwarders, shippers and third parties typically just buy a trace detector, he adds. The largest order the company received so far was for 20 trace detectors from one freight forwarder who deployed them to gateway cities around the country, he says.

Carpenter says that US Testing has resold a number of GE’s Itemiser 2 units since last November and found them to be reliable in cargo screening for a variety of products just as fruits, frozen commodities and tires, with few false alarms. The trace detectors are attractive to companies that have to screen because the alarm on a hit whereas the X-Ray machines rely on operator interpretation of images, which creates risk management issues for the freight forwarders, he says.

As far as he knows, Carpenter says the one piece of technology that no one has bought for cargo screening has been the EDS machines. For one these are expensive and second, TSA plans to test them next year against various commodity classes, which should give potential users a better idea whether an EDS system is right for them or not, he adds. TSA is currently testing X-Ray systems now against various commodity classes, he says.