Miscellaneous Cargo Theft Information
Information Sourced from Supply Chain Information & Analysis Report &
Transported Asset Protection Association - January 2008 Newsletter

One of IMUA’s main sources of cargo theft information is the SC ISAC, and it recently released a brief summary report for the 4th quarter 2007 that contained the following observations -

  • The fourth quarter had the highest number of reported vehicle/cargo thefts in 2007
  • Most cargo thefts occur on Friday followed by Saturday, and the days with the least theft activity were Tuesday and somewhat surprisingly Sunday
  • The majority of vehicle/cargo thefts occur in two basic time ranges - 3am to 6am and 9pm up to midnight
  • Geographically, Texas had the most reported incidents followed by Georgia and Florida
  • The two most common areas where thefts occurred were unsecured parking lots (25%) followed by truck stops (21%)
  • Theft of empty vehicles showed a rise for the year possibly indicating that the perpetrators are using these stolen vehicles in their operations
  • Products stolen ranged from automotive parts (18%) - electronics (16%) - clothing (16%) - food and beverages (13%) - pharmaceuticals (8%) - and commodities (copper - aluminum - etc @ 8%)
The Transported Asset Protection Association (formerly the Technology Asset Protection Association) - TAPA - changed its name in 2007 in order to reflect its increasingly diverse membership base, and the fact that the supply chains of all manufacturers and distributors of high value products (not just electronics) are a growing target for criminals. In two years since introduction, TAPA’s North American Incident Information System (IIS) has logged 1242 reported thefts totaling more than $370 million in cargo losses. Given TAPA is an expanding organization, i.e. seeking members outside the technology area, and the fact that many corporations are hesitant to report information to third party groups, this theft statistic is probably the proverbial tip of the theft iceberg.

FYI - TAPA is holding its 2008 conference in Santa Clara, CA February 5 & 6 at the Sun Microsystems Campus with registration information available at www.Tapaonline.org. This particular conference is being hosted by AIG Global Marine. Some interesting IMUA connections include long time IMUA member Alan Spear is Chair of TAPA's IIS Committee, and George Gazey - Fireman's Fund Specialty - a member of the IMUA Loss Control & Claims Committee, is a new Board member of TAPA.

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