Thieves are swiping semis and tractor-trailers filled with goods, triggering a spike in cargo theft on the nation’s highways.
Over five days last month, an 18-wheeler carrying 710 cartons of consumer electronics was stolen from a Pennsylvania rest stop, a 53-foot-long rig packed with 43,000 pounds of paper was ripped off in Ottawa, Ill., and a 40-foot-long truck filled with reclining armchairs went missing in Atlanta.
Truckloads containing $487 million of goods were stolen in the U.S. in 2009, a 67 percent increase over the $290 million worth of products swiped a year earlier. Thieves stole 859 truckloads in 2009, up from 767 loads in 2008 and 672 in 2007, according to FreightWatch International, an Austin, Texas-based supply-chain security firm that maintains a database of thefts that several government agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, look to for trends.
“In the past two months, we've just seen such an increase that it’s to the point where criminals are just wreaking havoc,” said Sandor Lengyel, a detective sergeant and squad leader in New Jersey State Police’s cargo-theft unit. “They’ll pretty much steal anything.” Cargo thieves ripped off $28 million in goods in New Jersey in 2009, an 87 percent spike from the $15 million stolen in 2008, he said.
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I have been a truck driver for over 8 years and have noticed myself in truck stops the rise of cargo theft “truck stop shopping.” Its not only consumers that are in danger but it is the truck drivers. We have no way to protect ourselves because we are not allowed to carry weapons and we are forced to sleep in areas where the police would normally call for backup to patrol. I am a hazardous materials driver. Some of the things that I carry if taken by a terrorists could devastate a city and I have no way to deter the hijacking because I am not allowed to protect myself or the load. Also I carry many “high dollar” loads such as electronics and military goods and I do fear getting high jacked, losing my equipment, and maybe even my life for these loads and have to be on constant alert. The companies never inform the truckers of these high risk areas that other truck drivers have been attacked previously and warn us these threats. Truck stops are so jammed up with trucks and these is hardly any room for us to get a good nights rest when we have to constantly worry about our loads and equipment and the potential for us being robbed. Most truck stops have a drug dealers, prostitutes, and pan handlers roaming around and the police do nothing to stop them. Help us and contact your local affiliates and help us pass legislation to be armed so that we may protect ourselves, the cargo at hand, and also the interests of the public and public safety by stopping high jacking at the source. thank you, sincerely, Jessica Reavis, An American trucker