Trucking news and briefs for Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023:
During the last five Labor Day weekends -- considered the Thursday before through the Wednesday after the holiday -- CargoNet has recorded 156 theft incidents worth almost $7.5 million.CargoNet
Last week, theft reports to CargoNet reached their second-highest levels of the year. All supply chain professionals should be concerned with theft risk this upcoming Labor Day holiday, the firm noted.
In order to mitigate risk, CargoNet examined theft trends around the previous five Labor Day holidays. In total, CargoNet recorded 156 events with an average cargo value of $151,726 per event. Theft was highest in 2022, when CargoNet recorded 44 events. In previous years, cargo thieves preferred to steal valuable shipments of televisions, computers, and major appliances.
Thefts were most common near major supply chain hubs in Southern California, Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago, Memphis and Atlanta. There were no fictitious pickups reported in this analysis period, but these kinds of thefts are the main threat professionals should look out for this year.
CargoNet is warning of increased targeting of shipments of building materials such as shingles, lumber and power tools in response to extreme weather events in the Southeast.
Shipment misdirection schemes, a kind of fictitious pickup, remain the most pervasive threat to domestic, over-the-road freight transportation this upcoming holiday. CargoNet has recorded over 600 shipment misdirection attacks or attempts since November 2022.
