The international freight and logistics insurer TT Club has conducted a study for cargo theft in the US with data from the third quarter of 2021, showing that storage facilities targeted in 45% of reported cases, up by 20% year-on-year.
Additionally, 2020’s fall in hijacking and robbery of vehicles of 67% changed to just 25% this year and, according to TT Club, it is coincidental with a rise in theft of cargo units in un-secured storage areas.
“Congestion throughout the supply chain but particularly in and around ports is a significant contributory factor to this diversification of theft types,” noted a TT Club analyst.
Freight insurance specialists, TT Club and the team of the business improvement and standards company British Standards Institution (BSI) have highlighted the increased risk of theft from storage facilities seen over the past few months in the United States.
The changes in theft patterns from the same quarter last year highlight a trend away from ‘on the move’ targets to those locations where cargo is temporarily stored and delivered.
These locations include traditional warehouses and depots where containers and trailers are being held awaiting collection, many of which are temporary facilities in port areas without adequate security regimes.
The largest rise in the methods and locations for cargo theft was from facilities, as seen below. The percentage of the total increased to 25% in the third quarter of 2021, in contrast with just 7% in the previous year.
On the contrary, theft of vehicles fell “from a dominant 47% in 2020 to a surprisingly low 15%,” noted the Danish analysts, while hijackings also halved from 20% to 10%.
Commenting on some of the more contrasting figures, Mike Yarwood, TT Club’s managing director, Loss Prevention, said, “The is little doubt that the problems of supply chain disruption that are currently bedevilling the US freight transport system, particularly that of container congestion at ports and inland hubs, is creating increased opportunities for thieves.”
Yarwood added that the static nature of cargo in these circumstances, often stored in temporary and less secure facilities, leads to criminal ingenuity.
BSI’s data concerned with risk management in the supply chain, both in the US and throughout the world, should be aware of such patterns and hopefully take measures to reduce losses, costs and insurance claims.
