The fight against cargo theft: New ATRI research confirms dangers to industry

WASHINGTON — The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) is releasing new research on the growing problem of cargo theft.

“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. “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.”

Scale and Causes of Cargo Theft

The research obtained detailed cargo theft data from motor carriers, logistics service providers (LSPs), insurers and other stakeholders to understand and quantify the scale and causes of cargo theft, including:

• How and where cargo theft occurs.
• The financial costs of cargo theft to the industry.
• Cargo theft prevention strategies.
• Strengthening partnerships with law enforcement.
• The role of insurance in shaping cargo theft risk management.

Case Studies

The report also includes a series of case studies documenting the real-world cargo theft experiences of shippers and motor carriers.

The research documents the high cost of theft to both motor carriers – who average more than $520,000 in annual theft losses, and to LSPs – who average more than $1.84 million in annual losses. The annualized cargo theft cost to the industry is as high as $6.6 billion, or more than $18 million per day.

Counter Strategies

The report also recommends counter-strategies, including:

• 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.

To read the report in full, click here.

Dana Guthrie

Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.