Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Report tracks rise in cargo theft from storage facilities

Supply chain bottlenecks at ports and warehouses increased risk in 2020, with 25% of all cargo thefts coming from storage facilities globally.

Report tracks rise in cargo theft from storage facilities

In-transit cargo thefts decreased in 2020 while thefts from warehouses and other storage facilities grew worldwide, according to a 2020 annual cargo theft report from logistics insurance company TT Club and supply chain intelligence firm BSI, released this week.

Last year was an atypical year for cargo theft due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the report, which tracks cargo crime trends around the world. Growing stockpiles of products, new high-value targets such as personal protective equipment (PPE), and the potential for the vaccine supply chain to come under threat contributed to the strange year and are expected to shape trends in 2021 as well.


“The effects throughout 2020 of the Covid crisis threatened supply chain security, continuity and resilience,” said TT Club’s Mike Yarwood, managing director, loss prevention. “Not only did newly created high-value commodities such as PPE become targets for theft but bottlenecks in the logistics infrastructure at ports and warehouses brought increased potential risks. Temporary overflow storage facilities added to the dangers in loosening the grip of existing security systems.” 

The authors said there have been no incidences of Covid-19 vaccine theft recorded yet, but cautioned that challenges may arise in the coming months. Some of the leading cargo theft trends from last year included the shift in location of thefts, with losses from warehouses rising to 25% of all thefts globally, from 10% last year. In-transit thefts still comprise the lion’s share of cargo crimes, accounting for 71%, down from 87% in 2019. This shift is due to supply chain disruptions from the pandemic and changing consumer buying behaviors, which contributed to congestion at ports and warehouses around the world.

Stockpiling of goods led to a considerable increase in warehouse theft in Europe, in particular, where 48% of thefts came from warehouses and production facilities last year compared to 18% in 2019. In Asia, theft from storage facilities remained at about 50%, and in North America, in-transit theft remained the primary problem, with cargo theft occurring almost exclusively from hijackings and thefts directly from parked vehicles in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Thieves in the U.S. and Canada tend to most frequently steal shipments of goods by targeting cargo trucks parked in insecure locations; hijackings are more common in Mexico, according to the report.

The report predicts a tough year ahead as the global economy struggles to recover from the pandemic.

“In the coming year, disruption and the uneven resumption of international trade resulting from the spread of Covid will continue with imbalances in shipping container distribution that are likely to impact maritime, and through a knock-on effect air cargo capacity throughout 2021,” the report authors said. “The added vulnerability of cargo will therefore continue.” 

The full report is available for download atTT Club’s website.

The Latest

More Stories

AI sensors on manufacturing machine

AI firm Augury banks $75 million in fresh VC

The New York-based industrial artificial intelligence (AI) provider Augury has raised $75 million for its process optimization tools for manufacturers, in a deal that values the company at more than $1 billion, the firm said today.

According to Augury, its goal is deliver a new generation of AI solutions that provide the accuracy and reliability manufacturers need to make AI a trusted partner in every phase of the manufacturing process.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

kion linde tugger truck
Lift Trucks, Personnel & Burden Carriers

Kion Group plans layoffs in cost-cutting plan

AMR robots in a warehouse

Indian AMR firm Anscer expands to U.S. with new VC funding

The Indian warehouse robotics provider Anscer has landed new funding and is expanding into the U.S. with a new regional headquarters in Austin, Texas.

Bangalore-based Anscer had recently announced new financial backing from early-stage focused venture capital firm InfoEdge Ventures.

Keep ReadingShow less
Report: 65% of consumers made holiday returns this year

Report: 65% of consumers made holiday returns this year

Supply chains continue to deal with a growing volume of returns following the holiday peak season, and 2024 was no exception. Recent survey data from product information management technology company Akeneo showed that 65% of shoppers made holiday returns this year, with most reporting that their experience played a large role in their reason for doing so.

The survey—which included information from more than 1,000 U.S. consumers gathered in January—provides insight into the main reasons consumers return products, generational differences in return and online shopping behaviors, and the steadily growing influence that sustainability has on consumers.

Keep ReadingShow less

Automation delivers results for high-end designer

When you get the chance to automate your distribution center, take it.

That's exactly what leaders at interior design house Thibaut Design did when they relocated operations from two New Jersey distribution centers (DCs) into a single facility in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2019. Moving to an "empty shell of a building," as Thibaut's Michael Fechter describes it, was the perfect time to switch from a manual picking system to an automated one—in this case, one that would be driven by voice-directed technology.

Keep ReadingShow less

In search of the right WMS

IT projects can be daunting, especially when the project involves upgrading a warehouse management system (WMS) to support an expansive network of warehousing and logistics facilities. Global third-party logistics service provider (3PL) CJ Logistics experienced this first-hand recently, embarking on a WMS selection process that would both upgrade performance and enhance security for its U.S. business network.

The company was operating on three different platforms across more than 35 warehouse facilities and wanted to pare that down to help standardize operations, optimize costs, and make it easier to scale the business, according to CIO Sean Moore.

Keep ReadingShow less