Report: EMEA cargo theft up significantly in Q2

A total of 943 incidences of cargo theft were recorded in the Europe, the Middle East and Africa region during the second quarter of 2017 by the SensiGuard Supply Chain Intelligence Center, a sharp uptick from the 586 incidents during the same 2016 period.    Cargo thefts in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) combined rose by hundreds of incidents in the second quarter of 2017 compared with the same quarter last year, according to a new report by supply chain management company Sensitech.
   A total of 943 incidences of cargo theft were recorded in the second quarter by Sensitech’s SensiGuard Supply Chain Intelligence Center, a sharp uptick from the 586 during Q2 2016.
   The key month, according to data, was April, where a considerable increase occurred relative to April 2016. There were about 165 incidents in April 2016, but the number shot up to 384 in April 2017.
   May also showed a sizeable increase, growing from 211 last year to 319 to this past May. In June, 240 incidents were recorded, compared with 210 during the same month in 2016.
   The total value of the stolen items in the incidents were value was recorded, was 63.3 million euros, equivalent to about $74.3 million. Of that amount, the overwhelming majority, about 12.5 million euros worth ($14.7 million) was reportedly cash in transit. Second-highest value-wise was electronics (207.8 thousand euros/$244,000), followed by food and drinks (200.3 thousand euros/$235,000).
   The top five countries where most incidents were, in order: The United Kingdom, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden. The UK had a reported 400 incidents, compared to 147 in Q2 2016.    The rise, according to Sensitech, is likely due to improved information reporting in the country and not an actual rise in incidents.
Germany had a reported 173 incidents from April through June, compared to just 67 during the same time period last year. In the Netherlands, 127 incidents were reported, compared with 54 during the same three months last year.
   Belgium was the one country that saw recorded incidents decrease; they fell to 76 in Q2 2017 from 190 last year, according to Sensitech.
   “This might be due to the fact that Belgian authorities are still in the midst of collecting all the data for the month of June and the second half of May,” Sensitech explained in a statement, also saying that the number of reported incidents is expected to increase.
   Sweden had 51 incidents during the recorded period, more than double last year’s 20, data show.
   All data in the report comes from Sensitech’s SensiGuard Supply Chain Intelligence Center, which captures cargo theft and supply chain risk data from numerous sources, including its customers, law enforcement agencies, industry organizations and the insurance industry.