FWI: U.S. cargo thefts decreasing in volume, value

Cargo thefts in the United States were down 11 percent by volume in the second quarter and 25 percent in value compared with the first quarter, according to the FreightWatch International Q2 2015 U.S. Cargo Theft Report.    FreightWatch International Supply Chain Intelligence Center (FWI SCIC) recorded a total of 178 cargo thefts in the United States during the second quarter of 2015.
   According to the FWI Q2 2015 U.S. Cargo Theft Report, the average loss value per incident during this time was $189,307, down 25 percent from the first quarter of 2015 and less than 1 percent from the second quarter of 2014. Cargo theft volumes were down 11 percent in the quarter compared to Q1 2015 and 7 percent from Q2 2014.
   FWI noted in the report that zero thefts of cargo valued at over $1 million had been reported as of publication time, down from two such incidents in Q1 2014 and seven in Q1 2015.
   The most common incidents during the second quarter continued to involve the theft of Full Truckloads, which accounted for 83 percent of all reported thefts, up from 80 percent the previous quarter.
   Food and Drinks remained the most stolen product type in the Q2 2015, accounting for 16 percent of total thefts in the U.S. during this time, but still down from 31 percent in Q1 2015. Products that were primarily targeted in this category included produce and canned and dry goods.
    FWI warned the Food and Drink category shows similar theft patterns to that of pharmaceuticals “in that its overall volume of thefts is dropping while its average loss value is steadily climbing.”
   “While this trend in Pharmaceuticals is largely due to the decrease in readily obtainable, low security loads as the industry has hardened its supply chain, this trend in Food & Drinks is largely attributable to the rise in theft rates of other, more valuable products,” FWI added. “Simply put, as the availability of low security and high value loads diminishes, organized cargo criminals must broaden their efforts targeting a wider variety of low risk, high reward shipments.”
   The Electronics and Home and Garden categories each produced 14 percent of the total, making it a tie for the second most stolen product type. Electronics thefts were primarily consisted of the televisions and displays or cell phones and accessories, while Home and Garden was dominated by Appliances, which accounted for 42 percent of the total thefts in the category.
   Building and Industrial was the third most targeted category with 12 percent of total incidents, followed by Auto and Parts with 9 percent.
   Geographically speaking, Texas supplanted New Jersey, as the state with the most reported thefts in Q2 2015 with 18 percent of total incidents occurring there. California and Florida came in second with 17 percent of the total each, followed by Georgia, which reported a 27 decrease in theft volume from last quarter. New Jersey returned to its typical fifth place spot in the rankings as theft incidents there fell 60 percent, but were still up 25 percent from Q2 2014.