TT Club attributes 10 percent of cargo losses over past decade to theft

Insurance and risk management provider TT Club called cargo theft “one of the most significant causes of disruption in the supply chain and claims cost to the Club,” in a statement today, suggesting an answer to the problem may be found in covert tracking devices for the cargo.

According to TT Club, cargo theft accounts for about 10 percent of reported claims during the past ten years in both volume and cost. After analyzing patterns based on insurance claims, the insurance provider reported that thefts are most common on Thursday but most lucrative on Friday. Incident frequencies also follow seasonal trends, climbing through the third and fourth quarters and peaking in October. Electronics, clothing, and food and beverages are particularly valuable targets for theft, accounting for more than 40 percent of cargo theft, TT Club reported.

CargoNet, which facilitates information-sharing among theft victims and law enforcement, recorded 836 cargo theft cases in 2016, according to Transport Topics. That represents the third year in a row in which the number of reported incidents declined. However, value of stolen cargo has increased each year over the same period, reaching US$114 million in 2016.

Security and surveillance technology to deter theft are being continuously developed, but, as TT Club notes, “their effectiveness is determined only by the resolve of the thief.” In other words, a sufficiently determined thief may be recorded stealing cargo that is never recovered.

More promising are the growing number of tracking devices that fit inside cargo containers or packaging, with the ability to alert authorities to the location of stolen cargo and routes to market, which could provide more information about how stolen cargo is typically disposed of.