July 4th holiday puts supply chain on high alert for freight theft
Cargo thieves will seek to exploit extended business closures this upcoming holiday to steal more cargo, especially computer electronics, experts warn.
Victoria Kickham, an editor at large for Supply Chain Quarterly, started her career as a newspaper reporter in the Boston area before moving into B2B journalism. She has covered manufacturing, distribution and supply chain issues for a variety of publications in the industrial and electronics sectors, and now writes about everything from forklift batteries to omnichannel business trends for Supply Chain Quarterly's sister publication, DC Velocity.
Transportation, logistics, and supply chain professionals should be on high alert this coming weekend as extended business closures signal a green light to cargo thieves, experts caution.
The warning comes in the wake of a recent CargoNet study revealing a record high level of theft last July 4th weekend, when activity rose 123% compared to 2019 to reach its highest level in four years. With extra time to get away with their crimes, thieves will target both in-transit freight and warehouse inventory again this year, with computer electronics as the most at-risk items.
“In previous years, household goods and food and beverage items were the most commonly targeted commodities. This would include items like appliances, toys, alcoholic beverages, and seafood,” according to CargoNet analysts. “The Covid-19 pandemic has caused shortages and price inflation of specific goods, and we think the items most affected—like computer electronics—are the items most at-risk this holiday.”
CargoNet reviewed theft data between July 1 and July 7 for the previous five years for its June 23 report. There were a total of 127 theft events reported in the analysis period, or an average of 25 per year. The average stolen shipment was worth $145,699 per event, and 42% of theft events occurred on a Friday or Saturday, according to the report. California, Texas, Florida, and Illinois recorded the most thefts over the five-year analysis period, and the analysts said those states remain the most at-risk this year. They also pointed to an increase in full truckload cargo theft across the South and Midwest.
Scott Cornell, transportation lead and crime and theft specialist at Travelers Insurance, attributed much of the 2020 cargo theft increase to the pandemic and its effects on the U.S. economy.
“We know that when we see anything impact the economy as a whole, we’ll see some significant shifts,” he said, pointing to a more than 60% increase in cargo theft during the second quarter of 2020, at the peak of the pandemic.
Coming into 2021, Cornell said the overall number of thefts was decreasing, but he also pointed to a shift in targeted items, echoing CargoNet’s data on computer electronics.
“We’ve seen significant trends toward computers, laptops,” he said, pointing to CargoNet’s data showing thieves targeting full truckloads of computer electronics from warehouses in California. CargoNet has recorded over 50 thefts of electronics shipments in the state since this past September, and thefts have increased 89% when compared to the previous year. On average, each full truckload theft event was worth $595,928 and each partial truckload $197,157, according to CargoNet.
Supply chain professionals can implement risk mitigation strategies to avoid the increased dangers this holiday weekend and for the longer term. Those include arranging for same-day delivery of short-haul shipments, embedding covert tracking devices, and using high-security locks to prevent trailer burglaries, according to CargoNet.
Cornell agreed and added that Travelers recommends a “layered” approach to security when it comes to combating cargo theft.
“A layered approach means [having] good processes and procedures first,” he said, adding that it should be “the foundation for everything you do.”
That foundation includes:
Educating employees and training all staff on what cargo theft is, what the current trends are, and raising general awareness of the problem;
Using a “red zone” rule, in which the driver doesn’t stop within the first 250 miles or so of pick up, which Cornell says can help cut down on thefts;
Using high-quality locking devices and avoiding loading trucks too early;
Making sure loads are stored in secure lots;
Implementing technology solutions, including covert tracking devices, which can be used in trailers and inside cargo;
Having a formal response plan in place in the event of a theft.
Although the long weekend will allow thieves more time to steal cargo and more time to get away with their crimes, Cornell says he expects the large increase in thefts recorded last year to slow in 2021.
“I think we’ll see some pullback; [we’ll] see the numbers level out,” he said, adding that second-quarter data on cargo theft will offer a good indication of where the trends are heading, especially as the economy reopens from the pandemic. “The more open we get, the more we’ll see things go back closer to pre-2020 [levels].”
Supply chain planning (SCP) leaders working on transformation efforts are focused on two major high-impact technology trends, including composite AI and supply chain data governance, according to a study from Gartner, Inc.
"SCP leaders are in the process of developing transformation roadmaps that will prioritize delivering on advanced decision intelligence and automated decision making," Eva Dawkins, Director Analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice, said in a release. "Composite AI, which is the combined application of different AI techniques to improve learning efficiency, will drive the optimization and automation of many planning activities at scale, while supply chain data governance is the foundational key for digital transformation.”
Their pursuit of those roadmaps is often complicated by frequent disruptions and the rapid pace of technological innovation. But Gartner says those leaders can accelerate the realized value of technology investments by facilitating a shift from IT-led to business-led digital leadership, with SCP leaders taking ownership of multidisciplinary teams to advance business operations, channels and products.
“A sound data governance strategy supports advanced technologies, such as composite AI, while also facilitating collaboration throughout the supply chain technology ecosystem,” said Dawkins. “Without attention to data governance, SCP leaders will likely struggle to achieve their expected ROI on key technology investments.”
The U.S. manufacturing sector has become an engine of new job creation over the past four years, thanks to a combination of federal incentives and mega-trends like nearshoring and the clean energy boom, according to the industrial real estate firm Savills.
While those manufacturing announcements have softened slightly from their 2022 high point, they remain historically elevated. And the sector’s growth outlook remains strong, regardless of the results of the November U.S. presidential election, the company said in its September “Savills Manufacturing Report.”
From 2021 to 2024, over 995,000 new U.S. manufacturing jobs were announced, with two thirds in advanced sectors like electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries, semiconductors, clean energy, and biomanufacturing. After peaking at 350,000 news jobs in 2022, the growth pace has slowed, with 2024 expected to see just over half that number.
But the ingredients are in place to sustain the hot temperature of American manufacturing expansion in 2025 and beyond, the company said. According to Savills, that’s because the U.S. manufacturing revival is fueled by $910 billion in federal incentives—including the Inflation Reduction Act, CHIPS and Science Act, and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—much of which has not yet been spent. Domestic production is also expected to be boosted by new tariffs, including a planned rise in semiconductor tariffs to 50% in 2025 and an increase in tariffs on Chinese EVs from 25% to 100%.
Certain geographical regions will see greater manufacturing growth than others, since just eight states account for 47% of new manufacturing jobs and over 6.3 billion square feet of industrial space, with 197 million more square feet under development. They are: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, and Tennessee.
Across the border, Mexico’s manufacturing sector has also seen “revolutionary” growth driven by nearshoring strategies targeting U.S. markets and offering lower-cost labor, with a workforce that is now even cheaper than in China. Over the past four years, that country has launched 27 new plants, each creating over 500 jobs. Unlike the U.S. focus on tech manufacturing, Mexico focuses on traditional sectors such as automative parts, appliances, and consumer goods.
Looking at the future, the U.S. manufacturing sector’s growth outlook remains strong, regardless of the results of November’s presidential election, Savills said. That’s because both candidates favor protectionist trade policies, and since significant change to federal incentives would require a single party to control both the legislative and executive branches. Rather than relying on changes in political leadership, future growth of U.S. manufacturing now hinges on finding affordable, reliable power amid increasing competition between manufacturing sites and data centers, Savills said.
The British logistics robot vendor Dexory this week said it has raised $80 million in venture funding to support an expansion of its artificial intelligence (AI) powered features, grow its global team, and accelerate the deployment of its autonomous robots.
A “significant focus” continues to be on expanding across the U.S. market, where Dexory is live with customers in seven states and last month opened a U.S. headquarters in Nashville. The Series B will also enhance development and production facilities at its UK headquarters, the firm said.
The “series B” funding round was led by DTCP, with participation from Latitude Ventures, Wave-X and Bootstrap Europe, along with existing investors Atomico, Lakestar, Capnamic, and several angels from the logistics industry. With the close of the round, Dexory has now raised $120 million over the past three years.
Dexory says its product, DexoryView, provides real-time visibility across warehouses of any size through its autonomous mobile robots and AI. The rolling bots use sensor and image data and continuous data collection to perform rapid warehouse scans and create digital twins of warehouse spaces, allowing for optimized performance and future scenario simulations.
Originally announced in September, the move will allow Deutsche Bahn to “fully focus on restructuring the rail infrastructure in Germany and providing climate-friendly passenger and freight transport operations in Germany and Europe,” Werner Gatzer, Chairman of the DB Supervisory Board, said in a release.
For its purchase price, DSV gains an organization with around 72,700 employees at over 1,850 locations. The new owner says it plans to investment around one billion euros in coming years to promote additional growth in German operations. Together, DSV and Schenker will have a combined workforce of approximately 147,000 employees in more than 90 countries, earning pro forma revenue of approximately $43.3 billion (based on 2023 numbers), DSV said.
After removing that unit, Deutsche Bahn retains its core business called the “Systemverbund Bahn,” which includes passenger transport activities in Germany, rail freight activities, operational service units, and railroad infrastructure companies. The DB Group, headquartered in Berlin, employs around 340,000 people.
“We have set clear goals to structurally modernize Deutsche Bahn in the areas of infrastructure, operations and profitability and focus on the core business. The proceeds from the sale will significantly reduce DB’s debt and thus make an important contribution to the financial stability of the DB Group. At the same time, DB Schenker will gain a strong strategic owner in DSV,” Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz said in a release.
Transportation industry veteran Anne Reinke will become president & CEO of trade group the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) at the end of the year, stepping into the position from her previous post leading third party logistics (3PL) trade group the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), both organizations said today.
Meanwhile, TIA today announced that insider Christopher Burroughs would fill Reinke’s shoes as president & CEO. Burroughs has been with TIA for 13 years, most recently as its vice president of Government Affairs for the past six years, during which time he oversaw all legislative and regulatory efforts before Congress and the federal agencies.
Before her four years leading TIA, Reinke spent two years as Deputy Assistant Secretary with the U.S. Department of Transportation and 16 years with CSX Corporation.