World Trade - September 2008 - (Page 50) SECURITY Into Thin Air: The Growing Risk of Cargo Theft Statistics indicate where and when thieves may attack and can assist in identifying which cargoes are most vulnerable to theft. However, there are steps that supply chain stakeholders can take to help reduce their exposure. BY BARRY TARNEF W ith rising fuel and food prices and a weakened U.S. dollar, the cost of other goods and services has also risen in the past year. More economic pressures have been created by a mortgage crisis and job cuts that have led to an increase in unemployment. It is no coincidence that in these tough times cargo theft has been on the rise. Estimates suggest that cargo crime in the United States may amount to several billion dollars of losses per year. While there is no complete record of cargo thefts, data compiled from various sources can provide valuable information regarding what types of goods are being stolen and when, where and how the thefts occur. A more complete picture of cargo thefts may come into view because the USA Patriot Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 has improved the collection of incident data under a Uniform Crime Reporting System. In addition, a few forward-thinking organizations such as the International Cargo Security Council (ICSC) and Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) started disseminating information to their memberships on cargo crimes mostly as a method to broadcast these events in the hope that someone would be able to spot a stolen tractor-trailer or assist law enforcement in identifying the affected cargo. Chubb Marine Underwriters decided that this information would be far more effective if it was aggregated 50 WORLD TRADE SEPTEMBER 2008
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