Cargo Theft Surged to Record in 2009

Cargo theft rose 12 percent last year and averaged a record 72 incidents per month, according to FreightWatch International, which provides logistics security services and data.

Most of the 859 cargo theft incidents recorded last year involved thefts of full truckloads. FreightWatch said only 13 cases involved hijackings, underscoring that cargo theft in the United States “is almost exclusively a non-violent crime.” Last year’s cargo thefts included 36 warehouse burglaries.

The electronics industry was the primary victim, with 196 incidents accounting for 23 percent of the total. The food and drinks industry was second at 20 percent and home and garden items was third at 10 percent.

Thefts involving the building and industrial sectors made up 9 percent of cargo thefts, a drop from 16 percent in 2008, when prices for copper and other building materials spiked.

FreightWatch said other surveys have listed food and drinks as having the highest volume of cargo thefts but that this is because electronics often are divided among multiple categories such as televisions, computers and cell phones.

California, Florida and Texas topped the list of high-risk states for cargo theft in 2009, followed by Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, Tennessee and Pennsylvania.

Pharmaceuticals comprised only 5 percent of cargo theft incidents but had the largest loss per theft by commodity groups by value, with an average of $4 million. FreightWatch said that number was skewed by a $37 million loss in Pennsylvania but that excluding that loss the average pharmaceutical theft resulted in a $2.5 million loss, still tops among commodity groups.

The report said June, July and December were the busiest months for cargo thieves, and April and September were the slowest.

Contact Joseph Bonney at jbonney@joc.com.