Cargo theft activity expected to increase during holidays

Trucking news and briefs for Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022:

Over the last five years, there has been a rise in theft incidents reported to the CargoNet command center during the winter holiday season. Here is a snapshot of the events, including theft by state, commodity type, location type, theft type, and loss value from Dec. 23 through Jan. 2.Cargo theft recording firm CargoNet has reported that supply chain theft activity is “extremely elevated,” and the company believes it will continue into the holiday season as experienced cargo thieves will seek to exploit a target-rich environment of unattended trucks and closed warehouses.

Theft and fraud complaints filed with CargoNet between Aug. 1 and Dec. 14 are up 27% year-over-year. Complaints filed between Dec. 1 and Dec. 14 are up 40% year-over-year, CargoNet noted.

CargoNet examined theft data between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2 for the past five holiday seasons to help trucking companies and others in the supply chain mitigate theft this holiday. In this analysis, there were 176 incidents reported to CargoNet, and the average cargo theft was valued at $116,030. The number of incidents increased progressively each year. Last holiday season, there were 42 incidents reported between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2.

Incidents were most common in Texas and California, tied at 18% of incidents in each state. Incidents were also common in other major cargo theft hotspots like Georgia, Florida and Illinois.

Thieves most often stole unattended vehicles and shipments parked at major retail parking lots and truck stops, though CargoNet noted that incidents at fenced truck yards were a close third to the other two categories.