Mitigating Threat within the Rising Battle In opposition to Cargo Theft

This publish is a part of a sequence sponsored by IAT Insurance coverage Group.

Cargo theft stays a distinguished risk to the transportation business. In a single high-profile case in 2022, three Florida males stole roughly $9 million value of beef and pork from refrigerated vehicles that had left meatpacking crops within the Midwest and Nice Plains over the course of a yr.

Within the second half of 2022, studies of cargo theft and fraud rose 27% year-over-year.[1] Parking tons and truck stops are the commonest location for cargo theft incidents however secured yards are usually not immune from cargo theft.¹ Though family items and meals merchandise stay frequent targets, higher-value items, akin to autos, electronics and prescribed drugs are also steadily focused.[2]

The 4 most typical cargo theft situations embrace:

Crimson zones: Areas with ports and main interstate junctions proceed to be hotspots for criminals, together with California, Texas, Georgia, Florida and Illinois.¹
Hijacking: Criminals are getting bolder, taking alternatives to steal cargo and even hijacking tools at truck stops, relaxation areas and gas islands when drivers are refueling, utilizing the services and whereas taking an hours of service (HOS) break.
Inside jobs: An worker with detailed data of the cargo together with the origin and vacation spot factors is aware of when and the place a high-value cargo could also be weak and have tipped off an outsider on these particulars to be able to facilitate a theft.
Organized crime: Organized teams of criminals have subtle methods in place to perform cargo heists, as demonstrated within the beef and pork heists talked about above.

7 greatest practices to guard your masses

As cargo theft continues to develop and evolve, firms can implement defensive measures to mitigate losses, together with the next:

Use GPS monitoring for energy items and trailers. Moveable monitoring units may also help find a stolen car or lacking trailer. Nevertheless, this isn’t an all-encompassing answer, as they are often disabled in numerous methods or the sign may be blocked
Implement cargo monitoring. Devoted cargo trackers may be included with load contents, providing an opportunity to trace stolen merchandise wherever they go. Shipments of high-value attire or pharmaceutical objects, for instance, could use these, that are extra dependable than their GPS cousins as a result of they use cellular phone expertise. They’re additionally extra expensive. Prices may be minimized by including trackers to a choose variety of merchandise (not all of them), as criminals usually steal in batches. Use sufficient trackers in merchandise that not less than one tracker will probably be taken in a batch of stolen product.
Put skilled drivers in your higher-value masses. Use trusted drivers, those that have hauled a wide range of masses together with excessive worth masses, and those that perceive the procedures taken to maintain their cargo, tools and most significantly, themselves away from hurt. Work as a staff with the motive force previous to loading, reminding them of the additional procedures that must be taken on these kinds of masses.
Plan your routes. Remind drivers to keep away from crimson zones and excessive crime-rate areas, significantly when stopping or parking. Drivers ought to have a minimal of 200 miles value of gas and sufficient hours of service to journey that distance earlier than choosing up a load. This may also help to scale back stops and thieves could grow to be disenchanted with the cargo because it will get previous their goal zone.
Practice your drivers. Guarantee drivers know that vehicles and trailers must be locked and sealed, and that they need to determine secure, well-lit parking areas earlier than leaving the car. Extra measures embrace positioning the trailer to a construction to forestall the doorways from being opened. Look ahead to autos following the truck and don’t focus on the cargo with others both — on the telephone or over the CB radio.
Make use of good hiring practices and leverage background checks. Good hiring practices ought to lengthen to dispatchers, masses planners, warehouse and dock employees, not simply drivers. Be aware that warehouse employees don’t have to know the routes drivers take to achieve their vacation spot, which might additional defend a load from potential theft.
Buy sufficient cargo protection. Firms ought to decide if they’ve the correct quantity of cargo insurance coverage, particularly as the price of items rise. Work along with your insurance coverage agent to treatment gaps, and think about using a cargo rider for particular, high-value masses. Modify your protection as enterprise scales up or winds down, or your product combine modifications.

Solely a small proportion of cargo thieves are caught and prosecuted. And solely a small proportion of stolen cargo is ever recovered. Many regulation enforcement groups do not need the manpower to dedicate to these kinds of instances over higher-profile crimes. Taking steps to make masses much less engaging and tougher to steal, may also help to scale back cargo theft.

For extra info on defending towards the specter of cargo theft, contact IAT.