World Trade - September 2008 - (Page 52) SECURITY accounting for 39% of the thefts. Modal yards, owned, operated or managed by trucking companies, railroads or steamship lines were next with 27%. Unsecured locationsódrop lots, motel, restaurant and mall parking lots and on-street sitesówere the locations for one-fourth of the thefts. Warehouse burglaries, which were on the rise during the first two quarters of 2007, accounted for 6%. Hijackings represented 3%. Because the majority of cargo-laden trucks are parked for long periods of time at inadequately secured facilities, cargo thieves do not have to resort to violence in most cases. If they just wait long enough, their prey will stop, making them exceedingly vulnerable. Given that most of the thefts take place during the weekends and at largely unsecured locations, it may be the time to rethink conventional logistics wisdom. Many customers want their goods delivered first thing, even on Monday mornings. That one decision triggers a series of events that often starts with a trucking company picking up a load late Friday afternoon since it would be very difficult to queue up in marine and rail facilities and still make an early morning appointment. To date, there has been no concerted www.transportlogistic.de effort to establish safe havens for drivers and their cargo. However, there is hope. The European Commission just launched a pilot project to develop secure parking sites for trucks using the trans-European network of highways. Another novel idea, in use by a few transportation companies, is to enter into cooperatives with other firms whereby their drivers can take advantage of each otherís terminals. This is certainly far better than the other alternatives in play. Other techniques in vogue, because of their purported operational advantage, include preloaded trucks and drop-andhook. They may make sense, but staging loaded trucks without the requisite protection is fundamentally problematic. Manufacturers should reconsider using packaging, security seals, shipping documentation and even their trailers as branding opportunities, because displaying the corporate name, logo or the actual contents of the shipment can provide notice to criminals of a desirable target. Finally, storage facilities and cargo terminals might want to invest more in traditional security, such as trained guards, to augment their technology solutions. There have been a number of large thefts at locations primarily dependent on closed-circuit television cameras as their first and only line of defense. Not only was no one monitoring the feed, but when viewed after the fact, it was impossible to identify the people who entered through their gate or over their fence to steal loaded trailers or containers. WT Barry Tarnef is a Marine Loss Control Specialist for Chubb Marine Underwriters. Messe München GmbH Messegelände D-81823 München Tel.: (+49 89) 9 49-1 13 68 info@transportlogistic.de The industry’s widest range of products. Secure your place. As an exhibitor at transport logistic you benefit from: } The presence of market-leaders and decision-makers } Seeing the entire value chain } A high-carat conference programme Show yourself there – it will be worth it! At the world’s largest trade fair for the logistics, telematics and transport. Apply at once on www.transportlogistic.de/application APPLICATION DEADLINE: 15 SEPTEMBER 2008 including connecting business 12th International Exhibition for Logistics, Telematics and Transport 12 – 15 May 2009 New Munich Trade Fair Centre For reprints of this article, please contact Cindy Williams at williamsc@bnpmedia. com or 610-436-4220 ext. 8516. 52 WORLD TRADE SEPTEMBER 2008 WTM09084TRAN.indd 1 8/12/08 11:09:37 AM http://www.transportlogistic.de http://www.transportlogistic.de/application http://www.transportlogistic.de/application
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