A strong call has gone out to shippers and service providers to share cargo crime intelligence with the Transported Asset Protection Association’s Incident Information Service (IIS) to address the massive spike in cargo theft in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (Emea) region.
The latest data for thefts from supply chains in the region in Q3 2016 show a total of 489 newly recorded losses, more than five a day and up 105.4% year-on-year.
The total loss figure for the 46.8% of crimes reported with an actual value to Tapa’s IIS in the three months ended 30 September was €19 883 639. This included 28 incidents involving a loss of more than €100 000 and a biggest single loss of €4 million of jewellery/precious metals from a vehicle while en route in Arezzo, Italy, on 11 July. The average loss for crimes with a value in the quarter was €86 828 as Tapa recorded incidents in 25 countries in Emea.
Thorsten Neumann, chairman of Tapa EMEA, said: “The growth in the number of recorded cargo crimes is an industry-wide problem and using intelligence is the best possible way to avoid becoming a victim. However, there are still many countries, such as France, Germany, Italy and South Africa, where we believe the majority of thefts from warehouse facilities and trucks are not reported to our IIS.”
He stressed that all cargo crime information sent to Tapa’s IIS was verified before being added to its database and, just as importantly, no company or individual’s names were ever included in the data. “We simply want to know where a crime has occurred, the type of incident, the modus operandi used by thieves, and the products targeted in the attack. The information we receive comes from a wide variety of sources, including law enforcement agencies, insurers and the media as well as manufacturers and logistics service providers and we urge anyone with any relevant intelligence to send it to us at iis@tapaemea.org.”
In Q3 2016, 204 incidents of cargo crime were reported in the UK to Tapa’s IIS, the Netherlands recorded 104 thefts, and Sweden 53. Over the three months, 49 further losses were reported in Germany, while Italy and South Africa both featured in 10 new incidents added to the IIS database.
Goods most targeted by criminals
According to the Transported Asset Protection Association’s Incident Information Service (IIS) incident reports for the third quarter, food and drink was the product category with the highest number of recorded losses, 53 or 10.9% of the Q3 2016 total. Other products featuring in major cargo losses range from pharmaceuticals and clothing and footwear to furniture, toys and games, metals, building materials, cosmetics and tyres.
Products moving in supply chains in Emea remained most at risk during the quarter, according to Tapa. Five incident categories involving trucks accounted for 437 or 89.5% of the Q3 2016 incidents:
• Theft from Vehicle – 269 or 55.1%
• Theft from Trailer – 88 or 18%
• Theft of Vehicle – 46 or 9.4%
• Truck Theft – 22 or 4.5%
• Theft of Trailer – 12 or 2.5%
Tapa’s IIS also recorded 24 cases of theft from facility – 4.9% of all Q3 incidents - as well as 10 hijackings, seven of which took place in South Africa.
In 2017, TAPA Emea will issue the latest revision of its Facility Security Requirements (FSR) and Trucking Security Requirements (TSR), recognised as the leading security standards for supply chain security. It is also launching a new secure parking programme for all parking owners to help identify and increase the number of secure parking places in the region through certification, partnership and mutual recognition.
It will recognise existing secure parking locations and encourage other parking site operators to update the security of their locations to attract new business. Tapa members will also have access to a new online tool that will incorporate a route planner, a secure parking locator, site information and contact details, as well as an incident history overlay showing the locations of previous cargo crimes reported to Tapa on the routes companies are planning to use.
