The U.S./Canada region saw a 22% increase in cargo theft volumes between 2021 and 2022 and a 48% increase in average loss value, with current data pointing to similar trends continuing in 2023, according to a report from supply chain risk management firm Overhaul.
Based on current trends, the 2023 U.S. cargo theft volume is expected to show a slight to moderate increase versus 2022 as economic challenges continue to influence the demand for low-cost goods. During the first half of 2023, U.S. cargo theft volumes showed a 1% increase versus the same period in 2022. By category, strategic thefts continued to rise and now account for 13% of recorded thefts, though theft of full truckload and pilferage are still the primary concerns at a combined 68%, Texas-based Overhaul said in its 2023 Global Threat Assessment (GTA).
The highest proportion of thefts occurred at unsecured parking locations and truck stops/fuel stations, as criminals continue to act while cargo units are left unattended. Simultaneously, use of violence is on the rise. Although opportunistic thefts are still prevalent, the following of shipments from the origin is also a common practice, with criminals willing to follow loads for hundreds of miles before executing their theft, Overhaul said.
When coupled with rising average loss values, these trends point to the participation of structured criminal organizations targeting specific, high-value loads with increasingly sophisticated theft methods, the report said. That aligns with a global trend for cargo theft to be part of other criminal activities linked to the supply of an illicit and transnational market operated by organized crime groups.
The negative impacts of cargo theft on the economies of countries reach far beyond financial losses for carriers and insurers. Other diverse impacts include bodily harm to drivers, unfair competition between the products of the official market versus the stolen products, reduction in tax collection, and increased costs of safe transportation causing an increase to the cost of goods for end consumers.
Looking at longer term trends, the Overhaul report also included a summary of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Risks Report, which features the Top Ten Risks in terms of impact. They include:
- cost of living crisis
- natural disasters and extreme weather events
- geoeconomic confrontation
- failure to mitigate climate change
- erosion of social cohesion and social polarization
- large-scale environmental damage incidents
- failure of adaptation to climate change
- widespread cybercrime and cyber insecurity
- natural resource crises
- large-scale involuntary migration
