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NICB Reports 2010 Cargo Theft Statistics and Prevention Methods
Thursday, May 26th, 2011The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) released its Data Analytics ForeCast Report last week, highlighting last year’s cargo theft statistics which consisted of 747 reports of stolen freight and a loss of over $171,000,000.
The following information is provided by the NICB report found on www.nicb.org/File%20Library/Public%20Affairs/2010-NICB-Identified-Cargo-Thefts.pdf.
Risks:
-Cargo was more prone to theft when stationed at areas where numerous trucks were located, such as “truck stops, parking lots, warehouses, and port cities.”
-Most thefts occur close to their origin, which the report notes, “within 200 miles or four hours.”
-As Walt Beadling and Jim Barrett note in their presentation on Cargo Security, which can be found on the RS University page, “Cargo at rest is cargo at risk.” NICB acknowledges that it usually takes under five minutes for thieves to steal your freight.
-Do you know who is handling your freight? Fraudulent companies, often given loads through online brokers, were responsible for numerous thefts, posing as a legitimate carrier in order to pick up the customer’s freight, which then never reaches its destination. Know who your driver is and track your shipment live by shipping with Road Scholar Transport.
Statistics:
-Data found the state of California to have over twice the number of reported thefts than any other state with 247 cases. Texas placed second with 91 and Florida third with 66.
-The highest theft rate occurred in the month of February with 113 cases, followed by August at 78 and June with 76 thefts.
Provided by www.nicb.org/File%20Library/Public%20Affairs/2010-NICB-Identified-Cargo-Thefts.pdf
-When looking at the type of product thieves chose to steal, electronics stood out as the cargo of choice, accounting for 139 stolen shipments. Ranking second was “other” at 118 and food third at 108. Pharmaceuticals, a high valued target, only experienced 29 thefts, though suffering large losses, placing it at the number ten spot among the types of commodities stolen. This number, however, excludes controlled pharmaceuticals (making up the 15th spot with five thefts) and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals (18th with two cases). When combined, pharmaceutical theft would have 36 reports of theft last year, making it tied with metal in the 7th position.
Effects:
-Cargo theft does not only affect the shipper, receiver, and carrier but everyone in general. According to the report, consumers face retail mark-ups of nearly 20% when freight is stolen.
-Carriers and shippers that are fortunate to have their cargo recovered often receive “damaged or tainted products that cannot be resold.”
-Along with higher costs come higher risks. Thefts can result in harm for drivers and consumers face the chance of being sold a product that has been tampered with. As the NICB explains, there have been times when thieves have altered the expiration date on products such as baby formula in order to resell it. This, along with improper storage, can lead to health concerns when ingested.
Prevention:
-The NICB explains that the first step in avoiding employee theft is to properly screen staff. That’s why Road Scholar Transport conducts background checks on all new hires and routine checks on drivers.
Road Scholar Transport
-Educating your staff on proper security measures is another way to prevent cargo theft. As the NICB notes, employees should be trained on how to safeguard “five important assets” including “employee, trailer, tractor, cargo, and customers.” At Road Scholar Transport, we hold safety meetings for our drivers as well as continuously educate our staff on the latest news in the trucking industry. Working with the Cargo Security Alliance, our employees are alert of the newest and best ways to ensure the security of your freight. With independent tracking on both the tractor and trailer, tools that make it easy and convenient for our customers to monitor their freight live, and other extensive security features which you can view at www.roadscholar.com, Road Scholar is protecting the safety of your shipment.
-The NICB encourages drivers to make a continuous run without stopping for the first 200 miles, “use secured lots,…avoid theft hotspots,” as well as not to assign new drivers the task of transporting expensive shipments.
Save yourself the hassle of wondering if your freight will be safe during transport by shipping with a secure company such as Road Scholar Transport.
Do you find any of the NICB’s report to startling?
Consortium Outlines Ways to Protect Pharmaceuticals During Transport
Friday, May 20th, 2011Rx-360, a group of volunteers consisting of members and shippers of the Pharmaceutical and Biotech industry, addressed the issue regarding the rise in pharmaceutical theft last week.
The consortium, formed in 2009 and whose purpose is to improve the secure transport of pharmaceuticals, outlined what they believe would enhance the safety of pharmaceutical shipments, according to www.rx-360.org.
Over a billion dollars is lost annually as a result of cargo thefts across the nation, partially due to punishment not being strict enough, as well as the need for multiple security means on transport trucks, such as those belonging to Road Scholar Transport which contain independent tractor and trailer tracking, navalock, bolts, seals, and much more.
According to Rx-360, there are standard measures that can be taken based on the level of security to prevent cargo threats and are outlined below (information provided by http://www.rx-360.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=l5-cxXtx4p4%3D&tabid=209):
-For standard shipments, RX-360 recommends, “panic buttons within the 
drivers compartment (Road Scholar uses Qualcomm which features similar panic buttons disabling the vehicle and preventing it from being stolen), hard sided vehicles, bull dog locks, seals, security vetting of drivers and probationary period of six months with the carrier before moving pharmaceutical product (you can verify a driver hassle-free online at http://www.roadscholar.com/verification.php), satellite tracking of the trailer position (ask about Road Scholar’s ShowMe feature which enables real-time tracking down to the “breadcrumbs”) and documentation controls.”
-For sensitive shipments, the group encourages “additional alarms 
indicating when the trailer doors are open (satellite located, remote temperature monitoring), roof markings to allow the identification of the trailer by air, additional probationary period for the driver before moving sensitive shipments, known securing parking locations and, in some cases, the use of two drivers.” It comes as no surprise that Road Scholar Transport provides electronic door monitoring alerting of every time a door is opened or closed, user-defined temperature alerts and monitoring via ReeferTrak, aerial tracking, and even the utilization of a team of drivers.
-Finally, for critical shipments, Rx-360 “entails the logistic service provider working with the site/market to determine per product what is critical (security, quality, both)” with “tailor made solutions for the specific distribution need.”
For those shipments that need to arrive at their destination fast, Road Scholar provides expedited shipping options.
Visit the RS University page at www.roadscholar.com to learn more about cargo security and the steps Road Scholar is taking to ensure the safety of your products.
What percentage of the trucking industry do you feel is actually well-versed in cargo security measures, applying the latest technology to their fleet?
Jason’s Law Quickly Gains Support of ATA as U.S. Reps Reintroduce Bill to Promote Safety and Reduce Upcoming Issues
Wednesday, May 11th, 2011It happened back in March of 2009. Truck driver Jason Rivenburg was transporting milk to a customer in South Carolina. With only 12 miles left to go, Jason realized that he was several hours early for his morning delivery and needed to by some time. Deciding to take a short rest, he chose to pull over. The only available area, however, was an abandoned gas station in which Jason parked.
That night, as he was sleeping, he became the victim of a robbery. Jason, who had $7 in his wallet, was shot twice and killed.
Jason, who had a family at home including a wife, 2-year-old son, and twins on the way, would soon be remembered through Jason’s Law.
More than two years later, Jason’s Law, which sets to provide more truck parking accessibility and improvements throughout the country to prevent events such as what happened to Jason from happening again, is being reintroduced.
U.S. Reps Paul Tonko and Erik Paulsen announced the decision to bring back the bill at a conference in Washington, DC yesterday, where Jason’s wife was in attendance (http://www.truckinginfo.com/news/news-detail.asp?news_id=73737).
The bill, which is backed by the American Trucking Associations (ATA), would establish funding of $20 million a year for six years to create new parking capacity, improve existing ones, as well as “technology to track open parking spaces” (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ata-again-calls-on-congress-to-protect-americas-truck-drivers-121634658.html).
So why is Jason’s Law being introduced now? One reason has to do with the revised hours of service (HOS) proposal.
Drivers need to comply with HOS rules, which may be more difficult to do if a reduction in hours is granted. This difficulty further increases as the driver is traveling several additional miles just to find an available rest area. Not wanting to exceed their hours, drivers may pull into unsafe areas to rest.
Another reason for the bill’s reintroduction is due to the current debate of whether to close those parking areas now available in order to help reduce state budgets which have fallen short, prnewswire.com explains.
Finally, with current capacity issues and an estimated 2 million additional trucks being added in the next nine years to meet demand, more rest areas are needed to ensure the safety of drivers.
Road Scholar Transport is an advocate of safety, not only for our drivers, but customers as well. That’s why we use Nextel direct connect and Qualcomm to connect with drivers along with security technology such as panic buttons and satellite tracking to ensure driver safety and the safety of your freight.
Learn more about Road Scholar’s relationship with the Cargo Security Alliance and how we are working together to keep your cargo secure from theft by visiting the new RS University page at www.roadscholar.com.
What’s your input on Jason’s Law?
Have You Seen This Girl?
Thursday, March 24th, 2011(Information provided by the Find Marizela website-http://findmarizela.com/)
Earlier this month, 18-year-old University of Washington student Marizela Perez went missing and police need your help in finding her.
Marizela was last seen on March 5th between the hours of 2-3 p.m. at the Safeway store on Brooklyn Ave. in Seattle’s University District, where surveillance videos captured her leaving the store carrying a Starbucks coffee mug in her hand and wearing a denim drawstring backpack with a rainbow butterfly screen print.
Marizela could possibly be headed to the Sound Link Light Rail stations, Downtown/Chinatown areas, UW Seattle campus, or U-district.
Although a private investigator has been assigned to the case, there are still no leads or developments as of yet. If anyone sees Marizela or has any information on her whereabouts, they are asked to call 911, the Seattle Police District Missing Persons Bureau (206-684-5582), or Marizela’s father Edgar at 609-646-0905 immediately.
At first Edgar believed he had a lead on his daughter when he saw that she had signed into her AOL account on March 16th. Upon further investigation, however, it was found that she had been signed on since the date of her disappearance and never logged off.
Marizela’s family is worried about her health and safety, stating that Marizela is on anti-depressants, and therefore, it is very important that they find her immediately.
The website gives the following description of Marizela:
-Asian female
-5’5”
-110 lbs
-Asymmetrical bob with short bangs and brown/red highlights hairstyle
-Tattoo on left inner arm with the words “lahat ay magiging maayos” (“all will be well”)
-Last seen wearing a dark jacket with hood over a light color sweater with hood, denim jeans, light brown suede laced boots
-Possibly wearing green eye contacts
For those that want to donate to the Find Marizela fund, they can do so online at http://findmarizela.com/donations/ or via check made payable to FASA sa UW with “Marizela Perez” written on the memo line and mailed to:
Ethnic Cultural Center
care of FASA
Condon Hall, 7th Floor
1100 NE Campus Pkwy, Box 35560
Seattle, WA 98195
“We remain hopeful and we will not rest until we find Marizela,” her family notes.
Road Scholar Transport’s drivers will continue to keep an eye out for Marizela’s whereabouts and urge others to do the same and we hope for the safe return of Marizela soon.
