Forward Thinking
By Supply Chain Quarterly Staff | November 18, 2019
Glut of containerized freight is often stored under lax security, unsecured parking, Sensitech says.
Cargo theft across the U.S. increased in the third quarter, with thieves targeting high-value items and making off with an average value of $155,709 per incident, according to the Beverly, Mass.-based supply chain visibility provider Sensitech Inc.
One main reason for the increase was companies’ rush to import shipments from China before new rounds of White House tariffs take effect, causing a glut of containerized freight—particularly in Southern California—that is stored under the same type of lax security that is typically found in the fourth quarter shipping rush, Sensitech said.
Overall, thefts in the third quarter rose 13% in volume and 31% in value over the second quarter, while posting a rise of 3% in volume and a decrease of 8% in value compared to the same quarter last year, Sensitech said in its “U.S. Q3-2019 Cargo Theft Intelligence Report.”
Sensitech based its report on tracking a total of 165 confirmed cargo thefts over the third quarter nationwide, not counting thefts of assets such as trailers and containers, or of last-mile courier parcels. That means the report focuses on large-scale incidents such as: full truckload theft, fictitious pickups, hijacking, pilferage, and facility thefts.
Due largely to the tariff-triggered container import rush, California remained the most stolen-from state with 26% of total thefts in the third quarter, the study found. The next most dangerous areas for cargo were Texas (10%), Georgia (9%), Florida (just under 9%), and a three-way tie between Illinois, New Jersey, and Tennessee (each with 6%).
Regardless of geography, thieves target the same situations in most thefts, with a whopping 74% of thefts in the study occurring in “unsecured parking” sites. In comparison, thefts from the warehouse or DC recorded just 15% of the total, and “secured parking” recorded 11%.
Despite those patterns, organized cargo thieves are shifting tactics to evade capture, as evidenced by a rise in “atypical” theft types such as facility theft and fictitious pickups, SensiTech said. “As cargo thieves continually adapt to the evolving logistical security landscape, new threats will take shape in the form of new theft methods and new targeted products in new regions. High value or low security will not be the only determining factors in theft risk to cargo as thieves will adjust to the increased risk and modify their efforts accordingly,” the company said.
Further evidence that cargo thieves are becoming more organized can be found in their preference for stealing three top product types, including: electronics (particularly televisions or displays) at 21% of the total, home & garden (particularly appliances) at 19%, and food & drinks (particularly seafood or candy, cookies & snacks) at 14%.
Combined, those top three product types accounted for 54% of all third quarter cargo thefts, up from 53% in the second quarter, and up from 49% in the same quarter last year, the company found.
#SensiGuard Global Intelligence Notes are out! Visit #Sensitech Intelligence Center to read the full weekly report: https://t.co/crwdoICdGu pic.twitter.com/VN1V0xicre
— Sensitech Inc (@Sensitech) November 14, 2019
Join the Discussion
After you comment, click Post. If you’re not already logged in, you will be asked to log in or register.
Want more articles like this? Sign up for a free subscription to Supply Chain Executive Insight, a monthly e-newsletter that provides insights and commentary on supply chain trends and developments. Click here to subscribe.
We Want to Hear From You! We invite you to share your thoughts and opinions about this article by sending an e-mail to
?Subject=Letter to the Editor: Quarter : Cargo thieves target containers rushed into U.S. ahead of threatened tariffs”>
. We will publish selected readers’ comments in future issues of CSCMP’s Supply Chain Quarterly. Correspondence may be edited for clarity or for length.
Want more articles like this? Subscribe to CSCMP’s Supply Chain Quarterly.
Recent Comments