One topic of major concern within the trucking industry, which hits particularly close to home, is cargo theft. Having spent so many years in the trucking industry, with only one minor cargo theft occurring on my equipment, I would like to think I have done a good job protecting the goods I choose to haul in my trailers. Although I have not always been one to spend extra time on the issue of protecting my cargo, the one incident I did have helped shed new light onto how important it was for me to protect what was riding inside my box!
With a partial load of golf bags on, I had parked for the night at my secure yard to await picking up the second half of the load, before delivering to the golf warehouse immediately from there. When I arrived at the truck that following morning and began to conduct my pre-trip inspection on my equipment, I noticed my “name brand” padlock lying on the ground in two pieces. Apparently someone had jumped the fence near the rear of my trailer and cut through the “high security” padlock like butter with a set of bolt cutters. After calling the police to file a report and inspecting the load myself, I was fortunate to discover that I must have caught them in the act and startled them, since they only made away with a single golf bag in the process.
As lucky as I was that it was just a small loss that I was able to cut a check for, it opened my eyes to show me where I was lacking in my methods of cargo protection and security. When you are a hauling a trailer full of any kind of goods, people may be out there lurking that want to strike at the very moment you let your guard down. Parking in a well-lit area that is fenced and patrolled is sometimes not adequate enough to fend off thieves that are set on getting what you are hauling. This is why cargo theft devices for your trailer are a very wise investment for protecting your goods, your name, and your reputation as a safe and dependable transporter.
Whether what you are transporting goods that are of high-value or not, the importance remains as a driver to secure it properly. While most would assume the most stolen of goods would be electronics, the Freightwatch International SCIC 2015 Annual Report actually lists Food & Drink as the most stolen cargo by type, accounting for 24% of all reported cargo thefts. They also report that the average value of each theft of all types of cargo for 2015 was $184,101. Although this is a marginal drop in value of 21% from 2014, it still represents a large figure for loss that no company wants to bear the burden of.
In any event, if a criminal wants to steal cargo with a certain high level of determination, they are going to get it one way or another. The best defense in the trucking industry is to make your trailer the least attractive target! Making sure you accept nothing but the best protection devices for your application can do just that! If someone else’s trailer has just a cheap padlock and a shipper’s seal, your high security measures will make your trailer the harder “nut to crack” and may just save you the hassle of becoming another cargo theft statistic!