The following article was adapted from Mr. Tarnef's presentation at the 2005 CPCU Society Annual Meeting and Seminars, which was held last October in Atlanta.)

THERE are many ways in which losses to motor truck cargo can occur accidentally. Goods may be damaged in a collision. They also can be lost to rough handling, water, spoilage, contamination and other perils. Perhaps the primary causes of cargo losses, however, are deliberate: theft and pilferage.

The size of the problem is indicated by FBI statistics, which show that cargo-theft losses amount to billions of dollars a year. Nor are they likely to decrease. From a criminal perspective, the economics simply are too good. The rewards are high, while the penalties for cargo theft are significantly lower than for other thefts with the same monetary potential.

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