High inflation leads to widespread cargo theft, impacting supply chains of multiple categories in the United States

According to CNBC, the pressure on consumers to live under high inflation has increased, and the number of cargo thefts has continued to rise. Thefts have generally increased in cities across the United States, with the methods of theft changing from open robbery to online crimes, and the categories of goods that are prone to theft are also changing.

Billions of dollars in cargo losses each year, inventory of categories with high incidence of thefts

It is reported that cargo theft has always existed in the United States, but the categories of goods that are most likely to be stolen vary in different periods, and the number of thefts is increasing year by year.

Reason for the report According to theft experts at insurance provider Travelers, food and beverages were the most theft-prone categories in the United States during the 2008 financial downturn, and this trend continued until 2019. When the epidemic broke out in 2020, household goods became the hardest hit category for theft. By 2021, due to the demand for working from home and taking online classes, electronic products became the most common category for theft.

In 2022, the situation changed again. Due to high food prices, food and beverages once again became the most stolen category. According to CargoNet's latest theft report as of February, beverage and food cargo thefts increased by nearly 50% year-on-year. Such thefts also increased by 50% in January.

Cargo theft is estimated to cost trucking companies and retailers at least $15 billion to $30 billion annually, with the average value of theft being $214,0000 per shipment, according to the FBI, and it exacerbates supply chain disruptions that are fueling inflation.

Since 2011, the Travelers' Special Investigations Unit — which has a high-tech bait trailer equipped with hidden cameras and GPS tracking devices to catch thieves — has worked with law enforcement agencies to recover more than $85 million in stolen goods.

Cargo theft is spreading across the U.S., and theft methods are difficult to prevent

Cargo theft is reportedly spreading to more key points in the U.S. supply chain, with densely populated cities and locations with dense cargo concentrations such as ports, warehouses and railroads more vulnerable to theft.

Cities reporting a surge in freight thefts include Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, Savannah, Newark, New Jersey, Memphis and Chicago.

Additionally, theft is growing in inland U.S. port areas, such as Memphis and Chicago, which have heavy railroads and high population density, and strategic theft is also increasing in Texas, Alabama and Missouri.

While offline theft remains the main channel for crime, some criminals are now starting to use online fraud and identity theft to defraud cargo, which is an organized crime. Thieves pretend to be a legitimate trucking company and request the transfer of cargo online or by calling freight brokers and shippers directly.

Not only that, criminals can operate a range of scams online, track the movement of goods in real time, and conduct surveillance around distribution centers, monitoring the movements of trucking companies coming in and out.

According to CargoNet, such organized thefts have increased by 600% annually since 2023, and this trend has continued into January and February. This means that criminals can complete the theft process through remote operations, and cargo owners and sellers need to be more careful to prevent such fraud.

Editor✎ Ashley/

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