July 4th Weekend Cargo Theft Trends and Security Tips

posted by AJOT | Jun 29 2016 at 12:50 PM | International Trade

JERSEY CITY, N.J. - As most Americans enjoy grilling with family and an extra day off this July 4th weekend, cargo thieves will be seeking to get rich by stealing truckloads of nonalcoholic beverages, major appliances, and copper. During 2012 to 2015, CargoNet analyzed cargo theft data in the United States and Canada from July 2 to July 9 and noted that those were some of the most popular theft categories. Cargo theft has always spiked during holiday weekends, but we expect a particularly bad July 4th since it falls on Monday. Many truckers will park their trucks on Thursday or Friday and will not check on them again until Tuesday. In total, 119 incidents were reported during this time period. Eighty-one (81) of those incidents involved cargo theft. Food and beverage items were the most stolen items during this period, with 20 thefts. Cargo thieves also targeted household goods (15 thefts) and electronics (11 thefts). In 2014, thieves aggressively targeted metals, and CargoNet recorded six thefts of copper, steel, aluminum, and brass, but there was just one theft of metals in 2015. Additionally, in this reporting period, 70 semitractors and 64 semitrailers were reported stolen. Incidents were reported mostly in California (21), Texas (19), Florida (15), and Georgia (15). In total, CargoNet estimates $10.63 million in losses during this reporting period, but aside from 2013, each reporting period resulted in $2 million to $2.6 million in losses. Truckers can protect their trucks and freight by avoiding high-theft metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, and Miami and by parking in high-security locations with security services, secure fences, and high-visibility lighting. Noteworthy thefts from previous July 4th weekends