by Peter Buxbaum Feb 11, 2019 | Published in Issue 682

Pallets more likely to be stolen than entire truckloads

The image of tough guys hijacking truckloads of goods is a familiar one to fans of gangster movies. While trucks are the victims of most cargo thefts globally—75% of them, according to one report—these incidents increasingly do not involve the theft of the entire tractor-trailer.

Instead, cargo theft is increasingly characterized by pilfering: lifting a few boxes or a few pallets of products while a truck is parked at a stop. This tactic makes the job much easier for thieves, on several levels—they don’t have to hide the truck, for example—while making things more difficult for carriers, cargo owners, and law enforcement.

Even when thieves purloin an entire truckload, they are more likely to....(Read entire article here)

Members of a theft ring based out of Kentucky spent years stealing millions worth of cargo from tractor trailers traveling along the interstate, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Read Full Story Here.

Read Complete Article Here:  

The methods may change but the adage remains true, Freight at rest is freight at risk.

Great Article featuring Scott Cornell - Travelers: Read Article Here 

Breaking News out of Wisconsin, "Ringleaders Sentenced In Massive Interstate Cargo Theft Case"

Nearly a dozen men have been arrested in a cargo theft trafficking ring that used stolen tractor-trailers to move more than $1 million in goods meant for retailers across the country to a New Jersey warehouse, where they were held until they could be sold domestically or overseas, officials said Wednesday. 

The five-month investigation, dubbed “Operation Botany Strike,” began Oct. 14, when detectives from the New Jersey State Police Interstate Theft North Unit began looking into the theft of a tractor-trailer, which contained $104,000 worth of meat, from a trucking lot in South Amboy.

Troopers found the abandoned tractor-trailer later that day at the Vince Lombardi Service Area on the New Jersey Turnpike and began following leads, which ultimately uncovered the organized theft ring. 

Over the course of the investigation, detectives found the thieves would transport stolen tractor-trailers from various jurisdictions throughout New Jersey to specific locations within a warehouse in Passaic. That facility served as the predominant location where the suspects would load and offload stolen cargo, as well as store the stolen tractor-trailers, officials said. Detectives also identified secondary locations in Little Ferry and Secaucus that served similar functions. 

Ultimately, 16 loads of stolen cargo were recovered from 10 national retailers. The seized cargo ranged from clothing and granite to home goods, landscaping equipment and food products, officials said. 

The suspects range in age from 26 to 60 and all live in northern New Jersey. They all face charges of receiving stolen property and conspiracy; one also faces a charge of fencing, which means knowingly buying stolen goods in order to later resell them for profit. 

“The suspects operating within this theft ring stole anything they could get their hands on, driving stolen tractor-trailers filled with everything from clothing, granite and food products to predestined facilities where they would store and offload the stolen cargo, eventually selling it both domestically and overseas,” Colonel Patrick Callahan, acting superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, said in a statement. “This operation alone, headed by the State Police Interstate Theft North Unit along with our partners, recovered more than $1 million of stolen cargo and dismantled a lucrative crime syndicate, which was costing victim businesses and consumers millions more.” 

Police departments in South Amboy, Lakewood, Newark, South Brunswick, Carlstadt, Kearny, Edison and Woodbridge assisted the New Jersey State Police Interstate Theft North Unit in the investigation, as did the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

​SensiGuard reports cargo thefts were down 15 percent in 2017 from 2016, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t still a high risk of theft in the country.
Cargo theft recording firm SensiGuard is reporting a 15 percent decrease in cargo theft volume in 2017 when compared to 2016, along with a negligible increase in average loss value year-over-year.
The firm says it recorded 649 cargo thefts in the U.S. in 2017 with 146 in the first quarter, 132 in the second quarter, 177 in the third quarter and 194 in the fourth quarter. SensiGuard also reports an average loss value of $146,063, up just a tenth of a percent over 2016. Last month, cargo theft recording firm CargoNet reported a total of 741 cargo thefts in 2017.
SensiGuard notes that while 2017 continued a downward trend in reported cargo thefts, that trend “does not indicate a decline in cargo theft risk in the U.S.” The firm adds that instead, thieves are homing in on specific loads that can be easily stolen or target specific products.
For the first time in eight years, food and drinks were not the most-stolen products in a year. Home and garden items topped the list in 2017.
In-transit thefts were most common in 2017, accounting for 78 percent of all recorded thefts during the year. Pilferage was the second-most common type of theft during the year, accounting for 15 percent of all thefts. Fictitious pickups saw a dramatic decrease in 2017, falling by 39 percent to account for just 3 percent of thefts. This decrease, SensiGuard says, was a result of the number of arrests, especially in Southern California, of cargo thieves.
Additionally, 75 percent of thefts in 2017 occurred in unsecured parking locations, including public parking areas, truck stops and drop lots.
Theft of full truckload incidents accounted for 78 percent of all thefts in 2017, followed by pilferage, accounting for 15 percent of thefts.
For the first time in eight years, food and drinks did not top the list of most-stolen items in 2017. Instead, home and garden products took the top spot, accounting for 17 percent of thefts during the year. Food and drinks made up 16 percent of the 2017 total, a 14 percent decrease from 2016. Other highly-targeted products included electronics (15 percent of thefts), and building and industrial (12 percent).
California continued to lead the nation in cargo thefts in 2017, accounting for 28 percent of thefts in the year. Texas came in behind California with 16 percent of thefts, followed by New Jersey (11 percent), Florida (9 percent) and Georgia (9 percent). ORIGINAL ARTICLE