An important consideration when deciding to move goods domestically is understanding the common cargo theft risks. Cargo theft is a partial or complete load from a truck or the carrier. The American Transportation Institute reports that carriers lose approximately $1.83 to $6.56 billion yearly from robbery. Along with monetary loss, it causes other disruptions like delays and cargo loss. Theft can impact various supply chain components, including shippers, drivers, carriers, customers, etc. Over the last few years, this crime has risen to record levels, to the point of congressional involvement. This article will explain the primary causes of cargo theft and how to prevent them from happening.
What Are The Common Cargo Theft Risks In Trucking?
Common risks that shippers should be aware of include autonomous truck vulnerabilities, suspicious transloading, and policy limitations. AI (Artificial Intelligence) has recently impacted the trucking industry, changing how trucks move goods across the US. While AI has the potential to benefit trucking in numerous ways, autonomous trucks have also introduced complexity. With drivers being replaced with code, it becomes easier to hijack the system remotely. Cargo theft can come from attackers hijacking control systems remotely, disabling geofencing mechanisms, and redirecting vehicles. Another common trucking risk that can lead to cargo theft is suspicious transloading. Transloading is transporting goods from one mode of transport to another, for example, from a boat to a truck.
While transloading is typically used in international shipping, shippers usually use trucking to move the cargo to the final location. Transloading is also when goods move from truck to truck, which can pose a cargo theft risk. For example, suppose a driver has a shipment that is unknowingly rerouted to a different location. In that case, the pickup location may be an empty lot with a random vehicle prepared to steal the cargo. Policy limitations are also a significant component of cargo theft. An example is when a carrier goes out of business; they can sell their MC (Motor Carrier) number to anyone. The buyer can be a thief posing as a regular trucker who will use the MC number for illegal transactions.
How Can Shippers Mitigate Cargo Theft Risks?
While cargo theft may sound alarming, it should not stop the shipper from moving cargo domestically. They should, however, take the appropriate steps to prevent this from happening. For theft using AI, the truck’s systems should have a proper firewall to prevent hacking. The system that the shipper or carrier uses should continuously verify components and users before allowing use. To avoid suspicious transloading, shippers can verify information on the carrier using the MC number. If there are multiple similar names and addresses when looking up an MC number, that can be a red flag. Many in the trucking industry believe that the end of MC number selling can help lessen cargo theft.
Overall education on cargo theft causes is necessary for shippers and carriers. Another way to protect your cargo from theft is to speak to a freight broker. Brokers are intermediaries between shippers and carriers and transport freight on behalf of the shipper. They do this by connecting to a network of reputable trucking companies with experience transporting cargo. These carriers understand and take steps to prevent cargo theft. Brokers also offer numerous solutions, such as negotiating rates, managing shipping logistics, handling documentation, and more. Please contact our brokers at 786-375-9420 or info@a1wwl.com to protect your shipment and start moving your goods anywhere domestically.