In the second quarter of 2021, cargo theft experienced a 253% increase by value

How’s this for scary? In the second quarter of 2021, cargo theft experienced a 253% increase by value, according to Sensitech’s quarterly Cargo Theft Intelligence Report. The average loss per incident was $365,459.

Full truckload theft accounted for more than half of freight-related crime, in spite of its decrease from the first quarter of 2021, Sensitech’s report finds. Pilfering—the practice of stealing select items out of a trailer—accounted for 44% of thefts and rose 10% during that period.

Electronics were the item du jour for thieves. Theft of computers, televisions, gaming consoles, and similar items rose 60% from the first quarter of 2021, and a distressing 92% since the second quarter of 2020. One incident alone involved an electronics load valued at $1.2 million.

RISKY BUSINESS

Moving freight in 2022 can be a tricky business. Not only are ongoing supply chain slowdowns generating opportunities for cargo thieves, but today’s increased reliance on technology brings a whole new set of vulnerabilities with it.

It isn’t just cargo theft that can keep U.S.-based shippers up at night, either. Instead, companies have to account for data breaches and malware.

If your supply chain is reliant on technology, your data has to be that much more protected

“If your supply chain is reliant on technology, your data has to be that much more protected,” explains Azad Ratzki, chief technology officer at BlueGrace Logistics, a third-party logistics provider in Riverview, Florida. “You get the benefits of efficiency, but if it goes down because of ransomware, what was once a purely physical process is now both physical and virtual.”

The good news is that shippers can deploy strategies and technologies to ward off crime.

With the enhancements that have been developed, such as geofencing, RFID, or electronic logging devices monitoring truck routes, there’s better visibility than there ever has been before

“With the enhancements that have been developed, such as geofencing, RFID, or electronic logging devices monitoring truck routes, there’s better visibility than there ever has been before,” says Eddie Leshin, senior advisor at BlueGrace Logistics. “Shippers can see where a product is in transit, whether it’s on the right track, and whether it’s being moved properly.”

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