Cargo Thefts in the U.S.

Cargo Thefts in the U.S.

Cargo thefts occur all over the United States, from the Pacific Northwest to the East Coast. However, while every state does experience some type of cargo theft, just four states are showing a considerably higher rate of thefts.

Experts believe the criminals are becoming smarter, knowing not only what states tend to have the cargo they are looking for, but those with environmental conditions and other elements that make it easier to steal from these trucks. They know the larger, more populated states tend to have the more and higher quality products, including food, clothing, pharmaceutical drugs, and electronics.

FreightWatch, a leader in leader in logistics security services, believes that recent trends of cargo thefts in four states in particular are a sign of what is to come. They compiled a list of the items that are stolen most often from trucks, as well as what states they are stolen from. Through their detailed statistics, four states in the U.S. pose a higher risk for cargo theft.

States with the Most Cargo Thefts

FreightWatch compiled statistics that looked at the number of cargo thefts in the U.S., and how many of those thefts occurred in what states. They found that there were a total of 946 cargo thefts during 2012, which on its own was already much higher than the previous year. Among the thefts, the vast majority of them were in California, Florida, Texas, and New Jersey.

California had 230 cargo thefts
Florida had 132 cargo thefts
Texas had 123 cargo thefts
New Jersey had 78 cargo thefts

The states of Georgia and Illinois followed, with the top six states representing 73 percent of all cargo thefts in 2012.

Types of Items Stolen

There also tended to be certain items that more likely to be stolen from certain states, including those not listed in these statistics. For example, the state of Illinois saw three times more pharmaceutical thefts in their states than years previous. Other statistics about the times of items include:

Food and Drink are the most common product type stolen.  Meats, energy drinks, produce, and other soft drinks were the most common food and drink items stolen.  Jewelry had the highest value of stolen cargo, with an average value just under a half a million dollars.  The percentage of electronic thefts dropped to a new low of  12 percent in 2012.  Metal thefts, including copper, represented 14.9 percent (141 thefts) in 2012.

The increase in cargo thefts may be worrisome, but that doesn’t mean you can’t protect your trucks. Learn more about GPS tracking for cargo theft by giving us a call at 1.888.502.3636.

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