JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Extended closures during the upcoming holidays bring extended opportunities for cargo thieves to strike. CargoNet examined theft data from December 23 to January 2 from 2014 to 2018 to help businesses mitigate increased theft risks. The upcoming holidays follow a particularly busy November, in which CargoNet recorded a 14% increase in reported incidents over the previous month. CargoNet® is a Verisk (Nasdaq:VRSK) business.
There were 121 reported cargo thefts in the analysis. January 1 and December 24 were the busiest days in the analysis, with 20 and 15 reported cargo thefts, respectively. CargoNet estimates that $151,699 in freight was stolen per event, making the total estimated value of all thefts in the analysis $10.9 million.
Cargo thefts were reported in 24 states, with 18 percent of cargo thefts in this analysis occurring in California, 16 percent in Texas, and 12 percent in Georgia.
Thirty-two percent of cargo thefts involved food and beverage freight. Poultry, beef, or pork products were the most stolen kind of food and beverage product; but cargo thieves also targeted nonalcoholic beverages, fresh fruits and vegetables, alcoholic beverages, and seafood. Household products, namely furniture and major appliances, were the next most stolen category of freight, making up 16 percent of cargo thefts in this analysis.
Noteworthy thefts from previous years
- $3,000,000 theft of networking equipment from Dinuba, California
- $1,000,000 theft of apparel from Newark, New Jersey
- $599,559 theft of footwear from Long Beach, California
- $507,105 theft of liquor from Tampa, Florida
- $417,000 theft of footwear from Portland, Oregon
For more information, contact:
Brett Garrison
Edelman (for CargoNet)
212-639-4903
Brett.Garrison@edelman.com
