Heavy equipment thefts are decreasing, says a new study by theNational Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), showing a 7 percent declinefrom 11,705 thefts in 2011 to less than 11,000 thefts in 2012.

There has been an overall 19 percent reduction in heavyequipment thefts since 2008. However, only 20 percent of heavyequipment stolen in 2012—at a cost of about $300 million—was everrecovered.

The NICB ranked Texas as the number one state for heavyequipment thefts in 2012, logging 1,401 crimes, mostly in Houston.North Carolina was the second state with 1,037 thefts, followed byFlorida (890) and California (686). These four states accounted for37 percent of the total number of robberies in 2012, although everystate has a statistic for equipment crime.

On the other hand, those same states also made the NICB'stop-four list for theft recoveries.

“In 2012, law enforcement recovered most machines in the samestate where they were stolen,” says the NICB report. “The biggerthe state and the more demand for equipment within that state, thelower the chance that the equipment will leave thestate.”

Ohio entered the NICB's list of top-ten states for heavyequipment theft for the first time this year, possibly because of arecent boom in the state's natural gas mining industry.

Wheeled machines were the most commonly stolen types ofequipment in 2012, including mower, riding or garden tractors,which accounted for nearly half of all heavy equipmentthefts. Loaders such as skid steers and backhoes weresecond-most popular among thieves, making up 18 percent of lastyear's thefts. Tractors followed at 13 percent.

“Two key factors determine the type of equipment that thievesare most likely to steal: value and mobility. For instance,large bulldozers are valuable but seldom stolen, as they aredifficult to move,” says the report. “Dozers and wheel loaders arethe most valuable types of equipment in the top ten, but backhoesand skid steers are easier to transport. Therefore, the lattergroup represents a greater percentage of thefts.”

Brands are also valuable to thieves: more than 2,300 John Deereproducts were reported stolen in 2012, followed by 837 KubotaTractor Corp. items and 680 pieces of Bobcat merchandise.

Caterpillar, Toro, Case, Crafstman, Exmark, Husqvarna and CubCadet Corp. products were also very popular with equipment thieves.The NICB says these manufacturers make the most compact “and thusmost easily stolen” equipment. Newer-make items were stolen mostfrequently than those created before 2010.

Thefts doubled between February 2012, the month with the lowestequipment crimes, and June 2012, as longer summer days led toincreased equipment activity and the end of a crop growth cycle. Amajority of thefts occur when equipment is away from the owners'property, when they don't have a chance to watch it while instorage or in transit.

Late summer, however, is the best time for equipment recovery asconstruction and farming season slows, prompting contractors usingstolen equipment to abandon it at the end of a job to avoid costlymaintenance and storage.

The NICB urges contractors and equipment theft investigators tofocus on work site security and to look for red flags such asunusual location, missing decals, altered paint and missingidentification plates.

The report concludes, “the area that needs the most improvementis also the area that promises immediate results: supplyingaccurate information to law enforcement 24 hours a day through theNational Equipment Register (NER) and the NICB”.