A recent report in “Trans Digest” the monthly publication of the Transportation and Logistics Council, indicates that cargo theft increased in 2009 compared with 2008 levels. We cannot believe that anyone is surprised by this fact considering the very poor worldwide economy.

The increase in thefts in 2009 over the prior year was a significant 12% according to FreightWatch International. There were a total of 859 major thefts of full truckloads of freight as well as truck hijackings. Of course, electronics led the list of stolen products because of their value and ease of sale. Electronics thefts accounted for 23% of total losses, which was followed by thefts of food and drink shipments which we also believe is a direct result of the current economy. While pharmaceutical thefts made up only 5 percent of 2009 cargo theft incidents, the commodity made up the largest loss per theft by value with an average of $4 million per incident. One incident of theft alone accounted for over $37 million in losses. As President Clinton once told us, it’s the economy, stupid!

Tony Nuzio