Problem
Experts say two-and-a-half loads of cargo theft occur every day in the U.S., the highest
ever on record. According to FreightWatch International’s, a logistics security firm annual
report on cargo theft in the U.S., cargo thefts were up four percent in 2010, year over year.
Specifically, the theft of precious metals, including copper, aluminum and other metals,
jumped from 15 in 2008 to 43 in 2010.
This rise in cargo theft is costly to merchandise owners and insurers alike. SouthWest
Transportation Security Council, a nonprofit industry group that represents more than
200 freight-shipping companies, estimates that the average loss in each cargo theft is
$350,000, not including the cost of the truck. Chubb Corp., a major insurer based in
Warren, N.J., estimates its 2009 thefts amounted to $435 million of products.
An example of the growing cargo theft crisis occurred in January 2011 when a high-end
tractor trailer owned by J Cioffi Leasing & Trucking, Inc. was stolen out of a shipping
yard in New Jersey. The masked thieves drove the truck 30 miles to a non-descript
warehouse where they housed stolen merchandise. With great precision, they unloaded
the merchandise, drove back to the shipping yard and stole a second load, even stopping
for coffee at the local convenience store along the way. When employees of the shipping
yard arrived for work at 7 a.m. that morning, they noted the missing merchandise and an
all-points bulletin was issued.
Solution
Fortunately for J Cioffi Leasing & Trucking, they had contracted with GPS My Truck to
install the u-TRAQ GPS tracking solution in its fleet.
