Cargo Thefts Down 14% in Q2; Food, Beverages Most Targeted
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Cargo thefts are down 14% in the second quarter of 2019, with 150 incidents in the United States and Canada, according to CargoNet, a subsidiary of Verisk Analytics Inc. of Jersey City, N.J.
The average value per theft was $152,844, for an estimated loss of $22.9 million in cargo stolen across the United States and Canada in the quarter.
Overall, CargoNet recorded 308 supply chain security incidents in the United States and Canada, according to its report. Of those, 50% involved theft of one or more vehicles, and 55% involved theft or a chain-of-custody issue with a shipment.
In the first-quarter analysis of 2019, CargoNet said trailer burglaries were becoming the preferred method of cargo theft. The pattern repeated in the second quarter.
CargoNet also noted a resurgence of “fictitious pickup activity,” when property is taken by people posing as pickup agents.
CargoNet reported fictitious pickups dropped slightly in the second quarter but were still common. CargoNet recorded fictitious pickup thefts in California, Ontario, Quebec and Florida in the second quarter.
Food and beverage products were the most stolen commodity of the second quarter and grew when compared with the second quarter of 2017 and the second quarter of 2018. In the food and beverage category, meat products and alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages were the most commonly stolen goods.
Household items were the second-most stolen commodity but dropped compared with the second quarter of 2017 and the second quarter of last year. Household cleaning products were the most commonly stolen items in the category, followed by furniture, household paper goods and major appliances.
Cargo theft was most frequent in California, but recorded thefts there dropped by 28% when compared with the second quarter of 2018.
Florida and Texas round out the top three states. CargoNet recorded decreases in thefts in these states as well when compared with the second quarter of last year.
