GHY Tradelines

(International Freighting Weekly – David Badger)

More trucks are hijacked, but better security means gangs are forced to target lower-value shipments

Cargo crime in the US hit another record high in 2011, as criminal gangs escaped with hauls worth an average of almost $320,000 – but this figure is down on recent years.  In its annual U.S. Cargo Theft Report, FreightWatch International, a global logistics security services provider, said 974 cargo theft incidents were recorded last year.

CEO Barry Conlon said: “While the rate of theft continues to rise, we are pleased to see the average value per incident begin to decline.  This shows that shippers, and the industry as a whole, are beginning to secure their high-value cargo more effectively, forcing criminals to target less-valuable loads.” Read more here.
 

(Business Insurance – Michael Bradford)

High-tech fraudsters use fake identities to lure customers

Thieves are taking cargo thefts to a new level, experts say.  In some cases, thieves are impersonating legitimate trucking companies. In other cases, they are setting up bogus businesses that appear to be real to gain access to trucking company shipments, the experts say.

“This is a new way that these thieves are operating,” said Richard Kirk, VP of CargoNet, a Jersey City, NJ, division of the Insurance Services Offices Inc.’s crime analytics unit. The fraudsters, tapping the latest technology, can take company information from the Internet to make it appear they are a legitimate trucking firm, he said.

Sources say cargo thieves will even go so far as setting up a shell company with a website to add legitimacy, then place bids on electronic “broker load boards” to haul freight that shippers need help in delivering. “If they win work off the board, they walk in and take the cargo,” Mr. Kirk said.

It is difficult to put an exact figure on the cost of cargo theft, sources say, but they agree it is at least a billion-dollar problem. Read more here.
 

(World Trade Interactive)

The Food and Drug Administration sent to stakeholders recently a letter expressing its concern about the increase in cargo and warehouse thefts of FDA-regulated products, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vaccines, medical devices and infant formula. The letter includes steps that industry members should take to minimize the risk of such thefts as well as ways that FDA can work with companies when a theft has occurred to address the associated public health risks. […]

Prompt public notification of a theft is a critical step in protecting the public health, the letter states, because it alerts others in the supply chain and the public to look out for the stolen products and to be skeptical of offers for these products at unusually low prices or from a person outside the legitimate distribution chain. In addition, if persons in the supply chain are looking out for these products, it becomes more difficult for the thieves to sell the products back into the legitimate supply chain. FDA strongly encourages firms that experience a cargo or warehouse theft to prepare a public notice for posting on their Web sites or as a press release as soon as possible after the theft. FDA can provide an expeditious review of a public notice if desired and will typically link to the notice on its new cargo theft website. Read more here.

(Industry Week – Peter Alpern)

A recent study signals that cargo theft remains an ever-growing issue in the U.S., affecting a wide range of goods within the supply chain, but that RFID technology might be a strong solution.

According to FreightWatch’s 2010 Annual Cargo Theft Report, industry-wide cargo theft rose by 4.1% in 2010 and averaged 75 cargo theft incidents per month, a new record high.

The food and beverage industry was the hardest hit, accounting for nearly 21% of the total theft activity, with an average loss value of $125,000 per incident. Electronics accounted for 19% of all cargo theft with an average loss per incident of $512,000. Read more here.

The FreightWatch report can be downloaded from our website here.