First quarter cargo theft was down slightly from 2020 rate

Supply chain crime activity in the U.S. stayed about equal in the first quarter of 2021 to that period in the previous year, despite enormous turbulence in trade patterns seen during the pandemic, a report today said.

Cargo thieves made some changes to their targeted commodities and tactics, but the outright theft of trucking vehicles or cargo decreased slightly overall despite spikes in certain areas, according to the report from Jersey City, New Jersey-based CargoNet.

CargoNet recorded 289 thefts or attempted thefts in the U.S. supply chain in the first quarter of 2021, with each cargo theft event worth an average of $142,574.

The high points of theft activities were found in Texas, California, and Florida, the report found. Zooming in on Florida, the state saw a 26% increase compared to that period last year, as well as a shift in crime sites to truck stops and retail parking lots, instead of it usual focus around Miami.

Meanwhile, notable drops in criminal activity happened in the count of truckload copper shippers in Illinois, trailer burglaries in Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, and full-truckload thefts in Pennsylvania.

2021 First Quarter Supply Chain Risk Trends Analysis - CargoNet reports similar levels of supply chain crime activity as first-quarter 2020, despite changes to targeted commodities and tactics used by cargo thieves.
https://t.co/V4S4goBH6q pic.twitter.com/Q8arQg8OS7

— CargoNet (@CargoNet) April 26, 2021