Holiday weekends are notorious for presenting increased cargo theft risks for transportation companies, shippers, and manufacturers. Organized theft rings are always active and recognize holiday weekends can cause shipments to be unattended for extended periods of time.
Thefts occurring over Labour Day weekends between 2012 and 2015 have had an average value of $159,654, including five separate incidents targeting electronics. In 2015, 89 percent of Labour Day Weekend cargo theft incidents occurred in California, Texas, Florida and Georgia.
FreightWatch International recommends prior to and during the holiday weekend that logistics and security professionals ensure security protocols are up to date and in line with industry best practices for in-transit and warehouse operations. Both of these will be heavily targeted over the weekend via traditional and non-traditional cargo theft methods.
Notable Thefts from 2012 to 2015 Labor Day Weekends:
Pilferage of $1.5 million in cell phones in Tennessee.
Full truckload theft of $250,000 in seafood in Florida.
Facility theft of $200,000 of computers in California.
Full truckload theft of $680,000 of televisions in California.
Fictitious pickup of $500,000 of apparel in California.
Pilferage of $273K of pharmaceuticals in Georgia.
