High Costs of Cargo Theft in Trucking Industry

Carriers average more than $520,000 in annual theft losses, and logistics services providers (LSP) average more than $1.84 million in annual losses, according to a recent report from The American Transportation Research Institute.

The annualized cargo theft cost to the industry is as high as $6.6 billion, or more than $18 million per day, the report notes. 

“Unfortunately, we’ve reached a point where cargo theft has become a standard cost of doing business for trucking companies, with consumers ultimately footing the bill for many billions of dollars in losses," said Ben Banks, TCW, Inc. President, in a statement. Something must be done to stop these costly crimes. ATRI’s new research on cargo theft puts real-world numbers to the issue and will hopefully motivate stakeholders to act quickly on solutions.”

The survey found that pilferage is the most common issue for motor carriers (39.9%), and strategic theft is most common for LSPs (62.5%)

Motor carriers are most likely to see theft from their own terminal (24.3%), an overnight parking location (19.4%) or a rest stop/truck stop (16.9%).

And theft from an LSP is most likely to occur at customer pick-up locations (50.5%).

Motor Carrier Top Ten States by ATRI Cargo Theft Index

• New Jersey
• Illinois
• Pennsylvania
• Florida]
• Georgia
• Colorado
• California
• Tennessee
• Arkansas
• South Carolina and Maryland (tied)

What is Being Stolen

• Food
• Electronic
• Automotive Parts/Vehicles
• Beverages
• Retail
• Metals
• Tobacco
• Building Materials
• Household Goods
• Tires

The report goes on to recommend counter-strategies that include:

• The development of security culture within motor carriers and across the supply chain.
• Enacting model state legislation, including specific cargo theft penalties.
• Developing a federal-level centralized cargo theft reporting agency.