{"id":14041,"date":"2022-07-17T16:39:54","date_gmt":"2022-07-17T14:39:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/?p=14041"},"modified":"2022-07-17T16:39:54","modified_gmt":"2022-07-17T14:39:54","slug":"cargo-theft-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2022\/07\/17\/cargo-theft-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Diligence can go a long way in preventing cargo theft"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">While many celebrate the nation\u2019s independence this weekend, cargo thieves plan their next moves as demand for desirable goods skyrockets.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Cargo theft incident reports are up 25% year-over-year and up 6% from May, according to data tracked by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cargonet.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-feathr-click-track=\"true\">CargoNet<\/a>. Over holiday weekends, those numbers trend higher as thieves plot and have extra time to \u201cshop around\u201d for sitting cargo.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cCargo thefts have been trending upwards in recent years over the Fourth of July weekend, with opportunistic thieves taking advantage of any chance to \u2018liberate\u2019 precious cargo and vehicles from their rightful owners,\u201d Mayank Sharma, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.teletracnavman.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-feathr-click-track=\"true\">Teletrac Navman&#8217;s<\/a> head of global product management and UX, told <i>FleetOwner<\/i>. \u201cThis can incur hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs for the fleets that fall victim, meaning that owners should stay especially vigilant even as they celebrate our nation\u2019s freedom this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">In anticipation of the Fourth of July weekend, CargoNet pulled together some notable theft incidents between July 1 and July 7 over the past five years. Theft was lowest during the 2019 holiday and has been higher than average for both 2020 and 2021, according to CargoNet data. Thefts were most frequent in Texas, California, Florida, and Tennessee. More specifically, activity was most frequent in major cities such as Los Angeles, Dallas, and Memphis.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">CargoNet highlighted some of the top thefts from previous July 4th holidays:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li>$2 million of perfume from Hillsborough Township, New Jersey<\/li>\n<li>$439,895 in medical supplies from Davenport, Florida<\/li>\n<li>$352,000 of computer electronics from San Francisco<\/li>\n<li>$328,321 of toys from Trevor, Wisconsin<\/li>\n<li>$314,191 of computer electronics from Commerce, California<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"img-align-center\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-v-520b16e0=\"\">\n<div class=\"ebm-content-teaser-image\" align=\"center\" data-v-05efa908=\"\" data-v-520b16e0=\"\">\n<div data-v-77d64d1d=\"\" data-v-05efa908=\"\">\n<figure class=\"ebm-image-wrapper\" data-v-77d64d1d=\"\">\n<div class=\"image-credit\" data-v-8ec23a5a=\"\" data-v-77d64d1d=\"\">\n<div class=\"image-credit-text-wrapper\" data-v-8ec23a5a=\"\">\n<div class=\"image-credit-text\" data-v-8ec23a5a=\"\">Photo: CargoNet<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"icon-wrapper\" data-v-8ec23a5a=\"\">\n<div class=\"ebm-icon mdi:image-area icon\" data-v-76cf18d2=\"\" data-v-8ec23a5a=\"\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"img-align-center\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-v-520b16e0=\"\">\n<div class=\"ebm-content-teaser-image\" align=\"center\" data-v-05efa908=\"\" data-v-520b16e0=\"\">\n<div data-v-77d64d1d=\"\" data-v-05efa908=\"\">\n<figure class=\"ebm-image-wrapper\" data-v-77d64d1d=\"\">\n<div class=\"ebm-image\" data-v-77d64d1d=\"\">\n<div title=\"Cargo Net July4 Trends\" data-v-77d64d1d=\"\"><img title=\"Cargo Net July4 Trends\" src=\"https:\/\/img.fleetowner.com\/files\/base\/ebm\/fleetowner\/image\/2022\/06\/CargoNet_July4_trends.62be283c06ec4.png?auto=format,compress&amp;w=1300&amp;h=730&amp;fit=max\" alt=\"Cargo Net July4 Trends\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Scott Cornell, transportation lead and crime and theft specialist at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.travelers.com\/business-insurance\/transportation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-feathr-click-track=\"true\">Travelers<\/a>, has been tracking cargo theft for more than 25 years and leads a dedicated cargo investigation team at Travelers. In his experience, these trends aren\u2019t surprising. What he has noticed over the last couple of years is the fluctuation and priority of the commodities being stolen.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">At the end of 2021 and beginning of 2022, for example, the hot commodity for thieves was electronics. Now, household goods have been reported as the top stolen commodity, with food and beverage moving into the No. 2 spot, vehicles and accessories coming in third, and electronics dropping to fourth in a short window of time.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This time of year, as many areas of the country brace for summer storms and natural disasters, cargo thieves also make it a point to pounce on the commodities people need most.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cOne of the things I always point out is that a lot of people don\u2019t tie themselves very closely to cargo theft, meaning cargo theft sounds like it\u2019s something that\u2019s far away or displaced, but it\u2019s not,\u201d Cornell said. \u201cThieves don\u2019t have any sympathy for the fact that people are suffering through hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods. Cargo thieves see it as an opportunity. They know the stuff will be in demand, so they will steal those things, and it just makes a bad situation worse.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Keeping cargo, drivers secure<\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">CargoNet found that thieves most commonly target vehicles and shipments that were parked at large retail parking lots and truck stops.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cWe consider theft to be elevated from the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic,\u201d CargoNet said in a press release. \u201cConstraints like staffing issues, high fuel costs, congestion problems at New Jersey\/New York area ports, and rapidly changing inventory conditions are all contributing factors that can make theft of a semi-truck, semi-trailer, or its shipment more desirable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Organized cargo theft rings that target shipments throughout the Southeast and Midwest showed a strong presence during the Memorial Day holiday and continue to operate, CargoNet added. To mitigate the risk of theft, experts advise carriers to invest in high-security locks, tracking devices, and secured parking whenever possible.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cOftentimes, the best form of security is for potential thieves to not know about anything they might want to steal in the first place,\u201d Teletrac Navman\u2019s Sharma said. \u201cMany criminal organizations \u2018case\u2019 their potential targets, sometimes going as far as infiltrating a fleet they intend to steal from.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">As a standard security measure, Sharma advised carriers to limit information on valuables to a need-to-know basis. \u201cIf particularly valuable cargo is coming in and will be sitting largely unattended for any amount of time, don\u2019t make a habit of telling anyone who isn\u2019t either protecting it or otherwise directly transporting it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">When working with clients, Travelers\u2019 cargo theft investigation team has established a three-layered approach to cargo theft prevention. The first layer, processes and procedures, involves no added cost to the carrier and is the most important level of the three, Cornell noted.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cI find that drivers feel a very strong sense of responsibility to the cargo they are hauling,\u201d Cornell told <i>FleetOwner<\/i>. \u201cIf you provide education to the drivers and detailed information, the average driver understands that cargo theft is a risk on the road, but you can empower them a lot more if you give them the specifics.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cOne of the first things I would do is take the April\/May <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cargonet.com\/membership\/cargonet-program\/solutions\/real-time-reporting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-feathr-click-track=\"true\">CargoNet report<\/a> and disseminate that out to my drivers and say, \u2018Here\u2019s what\u2019s being stolen and here\u2019s where it\u2019s being stolen,\u2019\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">One example that Cornell gives his clients is that cargo thieves will very often sit surveillance outside of distribution centers, and they will follow drivers away once they picked up their load in the hopes that driver will immediately go to the closest truck stop for fuel, rest, food, or a shower.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cWhat we will teach as one procedure is to have the driver do all that before they pick up the load so that when they pick up the load, they can avoid what we call a \u2018red zone,\u2019\u201d Cornell said. \u201cYou\u2019re going to drive 150 to 200 miles before you make your first stop because you got all that done already. The average cargo thief doesn\u2019t want to follow you for 150 to 200 miles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The second layer, according to Travelers, is securing all trailers with high-security locking devices, such as air-cuff and steering column locks, particularly when a load sits over a long weekend.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">The last layer is the use of technology.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cAre you using covert tracking?\u201d\u00a0 Cornell\u00a0suggested. \u201cIf you do have access to covert tracking, are you putting it in the cargo itself? Ultimately, that\u2019s what the value is. A trailer might be worth anywhere from $10,000 to $40,000, but the cargo that\u2019s in it is three to four times that depending on what that commodity is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Should cargo thieves make their move, Sharma said telematics can be a powerful tool in catching them quickly\u2013or in helping police recover any stolen cargo or vehicles if they do manage to get away.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cCameras and door sensors can provide alerts as soon as a vehicle is accessed outside of a vehicle\u2019s schedule, providing an early alert that can often make the difference in allowing authorities to stop would-be thieves before they can make off with any cargo or assets,\u201d Sharma said, adding that geofencing using GPS tracking provides an additional alert once a truck has left a designated area, providing another chance to catch thieves early in the act.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ultimately, cargo thieves enjoy the holidays because shipping volume of desirable goods increases, as does demand. Freight brokers also should be extra diligent during the holiday season as fictitious pickups increase, CargoNet advised.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>By <span data-v-302593de=\"\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fleetowner.com\/21704664\" data-v-302593de=\"\" data-feathr-click-track=\"true\">Cristina Commendatore<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Source <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fleetowner.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/www.fleetowner.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"w-post-elm post_content\">\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/who-we-are\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>KNOW WHO WE ARE<\/strong><\/a><\/h1>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/who-we-are\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-11695\" src=\"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/07\/AFMC4000-300x150.jpg\" sizes=\"(max-width: 430px) 100vw, 430px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/07\/AFMC4000-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/07\/AFMC4000-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/07\/AFMC4000-1536x768.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/07\/AFMC4000-2048x1024.jpg 2048w\" alt=\"\" width=\"430\" height=\"215\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>KNOW THE FLEET MANAGEMENT YOUTUBE CHANNEL<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCOPw2rdwSEA0iIapSs0fHJw\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-13320 size-full aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/AFMT4000-scaled.jpg\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/AFMT4000-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/AFMT4000-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/AFMT4000-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/AFMT4000-1536x768.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2022\/03\/AFMT4000-2048x1024.jpg 2048w\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1280\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While many celebrate the nation\u2019s independence this weekend, cargo thieves plan their next moves as demand for desirable goods skyrockets. Cargo theft incident reports are up 25% year-over-year and up 6% from May, according to data tracked by CargoNet. Over holiday weekends, those numbers trend higher as thieves plot and have extra time to \u201cshop&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":14042,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18],"tags":[291],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14041"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14041"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14041\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14043,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14041\/revisions\/14043"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}