CargoNet encourages supply chain stakeholders to beef up their security measures over the holiday weekend. (Credit: TTstudio/Adobe Stock)
From 2019 to 2023, there were a total of 146 cargo theft events reported — an average of 29 each year — from the Thursday before Memorial Day to the following Wednesday, according to data from CargoNet from Verisk. The cargo stolen in this period cost an average of $246,016 per event. Three of the thefts had losses exceeding $1 million.
Data from this five-year period showed a significant uptick in cargo thefts. There were 16 reported events in 2022, which increased to 40 cargo thefts in 2023. About 17% of Memorial Day weekend thefts happened the Friday prior to the holiday, though a significant number of thefts were also recorded on the Tuesday (15%) and Wednesday (15%) after Memorial Day.
Cargo thieves target food and beverage items most frequently (24 incidents), followed by household items (23 incidents) and electronics (18 incidents).
Some of the larger Memorial Day weekend cargo thefts in recent years include:
*Nearly $4 million in pharmaceuticals in Clermont, Florida
*$1.6 million in pharmaceuticals in Clermont, Florida
*$1 million in electronics in Kennesaw, Georgia
*Almost $624,000 in pharmaceuticals in San Francisco, California
California remains the most at-risk area for Memorial Day cargo theft, with 43 incidents reported from 2019 to 2023, followed by Texas with 22 incidents.
With these trends in mind, CargoNet encourages supply chain stakeholders to beef up their security measures over the holiday weekend; especially when dealing with high-risk goods in high-risk places like California.
In a release, CargoNet advises: “Industry professionals should be on high alert for unauthorized attempts to misdirect shipments from the intended receiver. Before accepting a bid on a shipment, logistics brokers should consider enhanced carrier qualification practices including (a) verifying with the registered FMCSA phone number or email, (b) monitoring FMCSA SAFER for recent MCS-150 form updates, which may indicate unauthorized changes to a motor carrier's contact information, (c) checking for established, positive load history. Shippers should consider enhancing sign-in procedures to capture vital information about the truck and driver picking up a shipment. Increased vigilance during the Memorial Day weekend can help mitigate the risk of theft and ensure the smooth functioning of the supply chain.”
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