Trucking news and briefs for Tuesday, May 21, 2024:
While carriers and shippers should be proactive in protecting all shipments over holiday weekends such as the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, CargoNet additional precautions for these commodities in the most-targeted states.CargoNet
As with most extended holiday weekends, cargo theft experts are warning the trucking industry about the threat of increased activity during the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, as “cargo thieves will seek to leverage extended business closures,” cargo theft recording firm CargoNet said.
CargoNet, a Verisk business, reviewed theft data from 2019 to 2023 for the Thursday prior to Memorial Day to the Wednesday after to help supply chain professionals mitigate theft.
There were 146 events reported with an average of 29 events per year. The stolen cargo in each event was worth an average of $264,016 -- due in part to 3 thefts that exceeded $1 million in property stolen, the firm noted.
The data from the past five years shows a significant rising trend in theft events, with 16 events in 2022, increasing to 40 events in 2023. Seventeen percent of recorded thefts occurred on the Friday before the holiday and a significant number of thefts also occurred on Wednesday (15%) and Tuesday (15%) after the holiday.
Food and beverage items were the most stolen (24 incidents), and cargo thieves targeted a wide range of products in this category. Household items were the second-most targeted commodity with 23 incidents, and Electronics had 18 reported incidents.
