Cargo thieves slow down in ’11

AUSTIN, Tex. — Cargo thieves apparently joined the growing pool of unemployed Americans this year.

FreightWatch International reports a 6.8 percent decline in truck cargo rip-offs during the first half of 2011 from the same period last year.

The average value per recorded incident from January to June of 2011 was $447,346.

Although the overall number of thefts is down slightly for the period, shippers and transportation companies should be aware of several trends that are plaguing the supply chain industry, FreightWatch says.

Multi-trailer losses remain a significant problem.

Secondly, electronics continue to drop as the most stolen items — accounting for 17 percent of all theft incidents — placing second to the food and drinks sector, which accounted for 24 percent of total thefts.

Electronics, though, still has the highest average loss value per incident of $1.61 million.

As well, deceptive brokering that results in thieves simply showing up and picking-up the freight continues to increase.

Freightwatch reports a 400 percent increase in 2011, indicating that cargo criminals "continue to adjust their modi operandi and act creatively to get what they want."