CARGO CRIME DATA


violence in many of these attacks. At least two drivers lost their lives in cargo crimes in 2019 while others were threatened by violent offenders armed with guns, knives and other weapons.


The biggest single loss reported to TAPA’s IIS in 2019 was the theft of €17,440,800 of jewellery/precious metals stolen from an Origin Facility in Gauteng province in South Africa. This was one of 19 crimes with 7- and 8-figure loss values. Overall, the 179 major cargo thefts last year – classified as incidents with a loss of €100,000 or more – represented a total loss of €96,103,152.


Losses were recorded in 16 separate TAPA IIS product categories, with 12 suffering combined losses of €1 million or higher; phones, clothing and footwear, cosmetics and hygiene products, car parts, computers/ laptops, cash, jewellery/precious metals, furniture/household appliances, food and drink, metal, tobacco, sports equipment, and no load (theft of truck and/or trailer).


Trucks continued to be the biggest target for cargo thieves, featuring in some 95% of all freight losses in the EMEA region. The lack of secure truck parking remained one of the most significant contributors to these crimes, with drivers forced to park their vehicles at service stations, in laybys and on industrial estates while taking mandatory rest breaks. TAPA’s Parking Security Requirements (PSR) industry standard is working to identify and certify a network of truck parking places which meet its members’ requirements. Already, this has gained the support of Parking Place Operators in 10 countries across the region, with more in the pipeline. In total, 4,602 of the crimes reported in 2019 occurred in unclassified parking places. Smaller vans involved in Last Mile deliveries also faced a high level of risk.


During 2019, only 220 Theft from Facility crimes were recorded, reflecting the growing reluctance of cargo thieves to take the risk of targeting warehouses and distribution centres where security systems and on-site personnel increase their chances of getting caught.


Attacks on trucks continued to mostly involve so-called ‘curtain slashing’ crimes as thieves cut the tarpaulin curtains of parked trucks to reach the goods inside. Drivers also faced extreme


Other modus operandi used by cargo thieves during the year included a significant number of fraudulent pick-ups by offenders using fake driver and company identities, and cloned vehicles – often after being awarded loads through online freight exchanges for available transport capacity. GPS jammers were once again used to block vehicle tracking signals is some truck hijackings, while the ‘blue light’ tactic to force drivers to stop their vehicles was another M.O. reported to the Association.


Commenting on the 2019 data, TAPA EMEA’s President & CEO, Thorsten Neumann, said: “Cargo crime has been growing at a record rate in the EMEA region since 2014 and previous analysis by


the European Parliament and industry associations put the total cost at more than €8 billion a year in Europe alone. Our statistics only show the incidents reported directly to our IIS database but they are the best possible indicator of the growing risks companies are facing and, naturally, a significant cause of concern for supply chain security, loss prevention and risk management professionals.


“There is no doubt that the supply chains of TAPA members globally are among the most resilient in the industry because of the steps they are taking to protect goods in transit or being stored in facilities. This includes adopting our industry standards for facilities and trucking operations.


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However, for the industry-at-large, the risks are now greater than at any time this century.”


He also advised companies to consider the ‘bigger picture’ of TAPA’s cargo crime data, adding:


“Some countries stand out simply because of their high rates of crime reported to our IIS database. This, however, does not mean they are bigger crime hotspots than anywhere else in EMEA. It just means our sources of intelligence in these countries are more willing to use the information they have at their disposal to reduce cargo crime in the most effective ways possible. Frankly, we need more partners with this positive approach. When supply chain security professionals in our Manufacturing and Logistics Service Provider members need to determine the level of risk on a particular route or in a specific country, our IIS database gives them high quality, credible intelligence on which to base their decisions. So, the greatest risk is often in countries where we have little information on the activities of cargo thieves, making it harder to manage these risks.”


TAPA’s full 56-page Incident Information Service (IIS) Annual Report 2019 was produced exclusively for global members of the Association.


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