German shippers take on rising cargo thefts

German business associations say they are fed up with an increase of cargo thefts throughout Germany and have launched a joint initiative to fight back.    German business associations say they are fed up with an increase of cargo thefts throughout Germany and have launched a joint initiative to fight back.
   The 13 associations, led by the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA), estimate that as much as $1.6 billion in goods are now stolen during transit across Germany each year.
   According to the associations’ analysis, physical cargo carried onboard about 26,000 trucks is stolen in Germany every year, averaging a new attack on a truck every 20 minutes. In addition to the value of the goods, the group says further damages of $1.1 billion are caused by penalties for delivery delays, the cost to replace the stolen goods and repairs to vehicles damaged by the thieves. 
   The associations say the true figure on cargo thefts is blurred by the fact that many incidents of thefts in Germany involve trucks registered and insured in other European countries. They also cited the problem with German law enforcement agencies not keeping their own cargo crime statistics.
    The newly formed Theft Prevention in Freight Transport and Logistics Working Group is calling for greater support and action by German law enforcement agencies, in addition to increased investments in locating technology, anti-theft systems, immobilizers and secured parking spaces. “This situation has to be addressed as quickly as possible,” the working group said.
   In addition to TAPA, among the working group’s 12 other members are the  Federal Association of Road Haulage Logistics and Waste Management, German Forwarding and Logistics Association, and German Chemical Industry Association. 
   TAPA is encouraging companies within these German trade associations to increase their adoption of its three industry standards for supply chain security: Facility Security Requirements (FSR), Trucking Security Requirements (TSR) and the new Parking Security Requirements (PSR).