Cargo theft can occur anywhere along the supply chain, affecting local logistics, transporters, storage yards, groupage operators, LCL consolidators, ports, depots, terminals, insurance, carriers and freight forwarders equally..

BSI Supply Chain Services and Solutions assesses that companies lose more than an estimated $76 million in UK alone due to cargo theft highlighting the seriousness of this issue..

TT Club one of the leading providers of insurance and related risk management services to the international transport and logistics industry and BSI have come together yet again to release the second edition of their report on global cargo theft covering the full year of 2018..

As per the report, cargo theft from road vehicles accounted for 84% of all the modalities of theft with 13% coming from warehouses/storage areas, 1% from freight trains and 2% other areas..

Food and Beverage were the most commonly stolen items during such cargo theft accounting for around 19% followed by Alcohol/Tobacco and Consumer products at 15% and Electronics, Apparel, Footwear and others making up the balance..

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South America topped the regional analysis with a whopping median value of $77,000 per theft, followed by Europe, USA, MEA, and Asia..

While the research found that there were commonalities in the modalities involved and in the commodities targeted, there was some variation in the median value of the cargo affected..

In terms of the types of cargo theft itself, Slash and Grabs had the biggest percentages @ 26% and hijackings accounting for 17%..

Hijacking was the most common method used in North and South America at 37% and 52% respectively whereas in Asia, theft from a facility was the most common at 43% compared with just 19% from hijacking..

In a press release, TT Club’s Mike Yarwood, says, “Our report brings together threat and intelligence data from BSI’s supply chain security country risk intelligence tool, SCREEN and TT Club’s insurance risk management and loss prevention insights. It demonstrates the shared goal we possess of educating supply chain professionals in the threat of cargo theft across the globe. We aim to engage in a proactive approach in preventing cargo crime and also minimising the financial loss resulting from cargo crime.”

The report is available as a free download https://www.ttclub.com/loss-prevention/publications/tt-club-bsi-cargo-theft-report-2018/ and analyses cargo theft by modality, modus operandi, commodities targeted and the value of losses across the major regions of the world..

Insider threat has been identified by this report as a common vulnerability across the globe.. As organisations evolve and are becoming more and more secure in terms of cybersecurity, access controls etc, the recruitment of insiders becomes a more attractive option for those attempting to gain access..

Commenting on this important factor, Yarwood added “As security measures become more sophisticated and widespread in practice, criminal organisations are increasingly recruiting employees of targeted companies to gain data, cargo information, delivery routes and destinations and access to IT systems. Due diligence in recruiting and managing staff is paramount. In general full or part-time salaried staff are less of a security risk than sub-contractors.”

The report also includes several pieces of loss prevention advice to counter the identified threats.. The risk mitigation advisory sections have been co-authored by BSI’s Advisory Supply Chain Security team and the TT Club’s claims and loss prevention team..

It would be in the interest of all BCOs, Freight Forwarders, truckers and everyone involved in the supply chain to follow the recommendations of the report..

This is also one area where the developments in Blockchain and Smart Containers and such technology could come in handy to prevent or reduce cargo theft..

Source Link | Shipping and Freight Resource