First-quarter cargo thefts total 188: FreightWatch

In the first quarter of this year, there were 188 cargo theft incidents in the United States, 25% less than the fourth quarter of last year, FreightWatch International (USA) Inc. said in a report issued Friday.

The average loss was $141,266 during the first quarter, a 21% decrease compared with the previous quarter. According to the report, such decreases are typical after the high-volume end-of-year shipping season.

The report said that of all thefts, food and drink products were the most stolen during the first quarter, at 24%.

Florida and Texas were the top states for cargo thefts, tied at 31 each, FreightWatch said. Georgia, California, New Jersey, Alabama and Illinois rounded out the top six.

Stolen trailers accounted for 61% of all thefts during the quarter, while deceptive pickups accounted for 10%.

“Despite an overall decrease in thefts” compared with the fourth quarter, “several product types saw increases in theft numbers this quarter,” the report said.

The food and drink industry remained the most targeted, at 46 thefts in the first quarter of this year compared with 45 in the fourth quarter of last year.

Pharmaceutical thefts doubled from 12 to 24 in the same time period, with an average value of $234,684 per theft.

Stolen clothing and shoes fell from 21 incidents in the fourth quarter of 2012 to five in this year's first quarter. Thefts targeting the electronics industry decreased from 37 to 22 during the period.

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