’Tis the season
It’s no secret that cargo theft spikes around the holiday season.
An increase in freight activity, coupled with loads left unattended due to closures of warehouses and other shipping and receiving hubs on holidays, creates the perfect storm for thieves to strike for maximum value with minimal risk.
Danny Ramon is the head of intelligence and response with Overhaul, an Austin, Texas-based company providing “supply chain visibility and risk monitoring solutions for in-transit shipments.”
“Criminals know that a lot of these places have long lines, and they’re typically operating behind schedule, and that’s going to be even more so during the holidays,” Ramon told Land Line. “So, they know that there’s going to be a lot of ripe targets waiting near those distribution centers – usually outside of the fences – because they either missed their appointment or the facility is running behind and they just don’t have the capacity to take them in.”
According to data from Overhaul’s first half of 2024 report, the company noted a 49% “surge” in thefts over the first half of 2023. Given the continual rise in cargo theft incidents over the previous year, this holiday season could again see record numbers for both total thefts and total dollars lost.
“This report should be a wake-up call. … The increasing frequency and scale of cargo thefts make it clear that companies need more supply chain risk management and control over their shipments,” Barry Conlon, CEO and founder of Overhaul, said in a statement. “Criminals are not only more organized, but they’re also tracking loads as they leave warehouses and distribution centers known to store valuable products, waiting to strike when vehicles are left vulnerable.”
Those trends have also been noted by Jersey City-based data- and information-sharing company CargoNet. The company’s 2024 First Quarter Supply Chain Risk Trends Analysis reported cargo theft had reached “new heights” in the first three months of 2024.
That diagnosis came off yet another record-setting year for theft in 2023. While data from CargoNet’s second-quarter analysis showed a 10% decline from the lofty heights reached early in the year, the total number of incidents in the second quarter of 2024 was 33% higher compared to the previous year.
“It is going to get worse before it gets better,” Ramon told Land Line. “I think what’s really notable is not just that we’re seeing increases across the board – which is absolutely notable and everybody should be taking note – but it’s accelerating. The rate of increases is accelerating. … Right now, we are 100% seeing increases across all verticals of cargo theft, whether that’s product targeting or the various modes that they’re using.”
Fraud schemes driving up cargo theft numbers
While you may think of crooks in masks cutting trailer locks when you think of cargo theft, a more “hands-off” approach is contributing to the record numbers.
According to CargoNet, some of that continued climb can be attributed – in part – to “complex fraud schemes,” which result in entire loads being “picked up and never delivered or delivered with digitally altered paperwork to hide the theft from the customer.”
Keith Lewis, the company’s vice president of operations, told Land Line in May that that incidents of strategic theft through fraud and other “deceptive acts” had increased 700% in some areas of the country.
Ramon said the increase in strategic theft should put owner-operators and small carriers on high alert that they are a “low risk” for thieves, making them prime targets for fraudulent activity.
“A lot of times, if you don’t have visibility into exactly what’s going on in your supply chain in real time, you can’t tell that your load has been misdirected. You can’t tell that your load is acting in a way that it shouldn’t be acting,” he added. “Unfortunately, the thing about these fraudulent or deceptive thefts is if you don’t have that visibility, you don’t realize that you’re a victim until it’s far too late.”
Protecting against cargo theft
When it comes to keeping your load safe, Overhaul recommends that all stops be made at “well-lit, secured areas with trailer doors backed to a solid surface, if possible.”
Other prevention tips from cargo theft experts include:
- Arrange for same-day delivery of short-haul
- shipments
- Embed covert tracking devices
- Use high-security locks to prevent trailer burglaries
- Use kingpin locks for unattached trailers
- Secure all tractors with high-security locking devices, such as air-cuff and steering-column locks
- Avoid having loaded trailers sit unattended when employees are not present
Additionally, CargoNet notes that both security managers and drivers should have accurate license plates, vehicle identification numbers and descriptive information for tractors, trailers, containers and container chassis – as this information will be needed by law enforcement to open an investigation if a theft occurs.
The company also cautions drivers not to leave their vehicles or shipments unattended, especially within 250 miles of pickup, and to be on the lookout for any vehicles that appear to be following them.
Fighting cargo theft from Capitol Hill
The need to slow the pace of cargo theft in the U.S. is also getting some support from lawmakers.
Introduced in June by Rep. David G. Valadao, R-Calif., the Safeguarding our Supply Chains Act aims to improve communication between federal agencies and state and local law enforcement in an effort to curb cargo theft, particularly in regions experiencing “high volumes of organized crime.”
If approved, the legislation would establish the Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center within the Department of Homeland Security to “collect and analyze data related to supply chain fraud and theft” and to share that information with state and local agencies.
The bill also would create a Supply Chain Fraud and Theft Task Force comprised of “HSI, the FBI and all relevant agencies” working collaboratively to “disrupt and deter organized theft groups that are targeting all stages of the supply chain.”
Currently, the bill has 14 co-sponsors from 10 states, including representatives from Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, Virginia, Tennessee and Texas. LL