Combat Cargo Theft Like Never Before
Cargo theft is on the rise in recent years after seeing a steady decline throughout the 2010s. No doubt, the Coronavirus pandemic led to many more criminals committing these thefts. Prevention is always easier than recovery, but how do you prevent something you can’t predict? CallPass’s cutting edge GPS trackers, such as the game-changing LANA Vision tracker with cargo monitoring technology, is paired with the powerful LANA Asset software helping businesses stay ahead of the thieves and maximize their trailer management.
What Defines Cargo Theft?
Taking any cargo such as goods, chattels, money, or baggage, from a commercial shipment of freight via pipeline system, railroad car, motor truck, or other vehicle is considered cargo theft. Although in decline from 2011 through 2018, there was a reported increase in 2019 and 2020 throughout the pandemic. This was especially true during the first months of lockdown, and at the holiday season. Common items to be stolen were toilet paper, disinfectants, personal protective equipment, and ventilators.
How Does Cargo Theft Happen?
Common tactics thieves will use to steal cargo are:
Pilferage – This refers to stealing just a small amount of the cargo, whether that be one pallet, one box, or even one item out of one box. This minuscule difference in the entire load makes the theft harder to recognize.
Fake Drivers – Some thieves may pose as legitimate drivers and have falsified documents in order to gain access to a truck and then drive away with it.
Hijacking – When a driver leaves the truck, such as for dinner or a break, thieves will break into the vehicle while it is idling or parked and make away with the load. Alternatively, they may stalk a specific truck and then pounce when they arrive at a red light, visit a rest stop, or enter and exit a freeway.
Burglaries – Thieves may enter a truck yard or other facility and force their way into trailers or containers in search of high-value goods. They may also be bold enough to steal an entire truck this way.
Grab and Run – Coercing a driver to stop by indicating that there is something wrong with the truck is one-way criminals commit cargo theft. Once stopped, they may steal the entire truck, or have accomplices nearby to offload the contents of the container.
Internal Involvement – Drivers, external organized groups, and internal employees can all secretly be gathering information about cargo and shipment to plan a theft.
How Bad is the Cargo Theft Problem in America?
Sensitech Supply Chain Intelligence Center (SCIC) produced their annual end-of-year Cargo Theft Report. As mentioned earlier, they found that 2020 saw a rise in cargo theft from 2019, which was the first increase since 2011. Although the data does not equal 100% of thefts, it provides a good view of the overall trend.
With 870 reported cargo thefts in 2020, this is a 23% increase in volume and 41% increase in average value compared to 2019. These are also the highest recorded numbers since 2016. Pilferage also had a record-breaking year, which accounts for 43% of all reported cargo thefts. SCIC also reported that three states made up 48% of all cargo thefts. California was the location for 20% of thefts, Texas for 18%, and Florida for 10%. Unsurprisingly, these thefts primarily took place in highly-populated metro areas with lots of commercial traffic such as Los Angeles, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Miami.
What’s the Solution?
Preventing cargo theft is top-of-mind for most yard and fleet managers. CallPass has the tools you need to keep an eye on your cargo and trailers themselves no matter where they are. Combining the insight gathered from LANA Vision trailer GPS tracker and cargo monitoring solution with the easy-to-use LANA Asset tracking software, you get a clear picture of what is inside each trailer/container and where that asset is located in real-time.
LANA Vision comes packed with dual cameras and a door sensor to provide real-time photographic evidence and alerts of each load upon every door open and close, this insight can be used to identify and report cargo theft as soon as possible. In addition to photographic evidence, the powerful cameras analyze trailer capacity/fullness providing a precise occupancy volume percentage, this gives you the ability to maximize utilization of each trailer in your fleet. All data is gathered and transmitted so it’s available in your personal dashboard at the click of a button. The LANA Asset tracking platform allows you to streamline your asset management, with the ability to monitor each trailer in your fleet with a full suite of features and reporting metrics. Advanced mapping paired with customizable alerts and notifications keeps you in know with your operations as you not only prevent theft you also enhance your operational efficiencies.
Start Preventing Cargo Theft Today
The ability to quickly account for all your freight throughout the logistics journey can prevent your bottom-line from taking major hits if you can react promptly.
To see how the CallPass’s LANA Vision trailer GPS tracking with cargo monitoring works with the LANA Asset platform to provide cutting insight into your supply chain and logistics operations, please request a demo today but filling out the noted contact form.
