The number of cargo thefts in the United States increased sharply in 2020, with a 23.2% increase year-over-year in Q3 thefts alone, according to CargoNet. Thieves are exploiting vulnerabilities in the supply chain in the days of COVID-19. So, it’s no wonder that for most shippers and freight forwarders, much of their time is spent “checking up” on freight, seeking ways to prevent theft, damage, and other losses, or managing those losses when they happen. It’s an inevitable challenge of the job. But with new innovations powered by industrial IoT, cargo tracking is now a whole lot easier and more accessible — especially when it comes to mitigating theft.
Let’s take a look at how using an IoT-powered asset tracker can help you react to thefts quickly, minimize losses, and even track down stolen freight.
How Freight Is Stolen
Food and beverage–related freight was the most likely to be stolen in 2020, with the theft of household goods on the rise. But all cargo is potentially at risk. What’s more, CargoNet noted an increase in stealing individual pallets and pilferage of items from parked trailers, as opposed to Full-Truckload theft. The theft of individual pallets is especially bad news for shippers, since drivers may not even notice these items are gone until long after the theft is over, making the pallet all the more difficult to recover.
Meanwhile, CargoNet also reported a startling 163% increase in fictitious pickups, especially because, during the pandemic, thieves posing as drivers have been able to conceal their identities using face masks.
These are just a few of the cases in which shipments might be stolen. The unfortunate truth is that your cargo is going to be at some risk for theft at every stage along its journey.
Why Current Cargo Tracking Methods Don’t Work
Electronic logging devices (ELD) are one of the most high-tech tools in shippers’ arsenal today for knowing where their cargo is at all times. ELD is sometimes a great tool for knowing where your shipment is, but it’s primarily intended to track the driver’s activities and hours. That’s where it often falls short for freight owners. When your cargo changes drivers, or is loaded onto a train or ship, an ELD can no longer tell you where your cargo is.
What’s more, ELD is installed in the tractor of a tractor-trailer, meaning that it’s not collecting the right data or metrics to help you know on what’s going on with your pallet. If your cargo is stolen from the trailer during a stopover, or picked up by a thief posing as a driver, an ELD won’t detect this theft or notify you of a problem.
Mobile tracking or word-of-mouth of the driver are other prevalent tracking methods. The problem is that the mobile phone is also in the tractor with the driver and not with the freight. And of course, just like ELD, the mobile phone is only good for tracking Full Truckload. Of course, calling the mobile phone of a driver also is distracting. Luckily, with asset trackers, you can stop making “check calls” to drivers!
Relying on word-of-mouth probably remains the most common way to track freight—and arguably the least efficient. There’s no contextual or verifiable information when relying on the word of a dispatcher or the word of someone else who spoke to the driver. It’s simply a waste of time.
Industrial IoT–Powered Freight Recovery
Enter the asset tracker — the most advanced tool on the market for detecting theft and recovering stolen freight.
An asset tracker lives with your precious cargo. That means it’s stored on the pallet itself, not with the tractor or trailer. And the result is pallet-level intelligence™, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. That means that you’ll know where your cargo is at any hour of the day or night.
If your pallet is stolen, your asset tracker may be stolen right along with it. This provides several key advantages. Let’s take a look at what those advantages are.
Knowing When & Where the Theft Occurred
First of all, you’ll know the exact place and time where your cargo was stolen. And you’ll know much sooner when it’s gone off its planned course. This allows you to react quickly, which increases your chances of recovering the stolen freight.
Delivery Chain can even help you alert the authorities when a theft has occurred.
Tracking the Location of Stolen Cargo
Asset trackers are often stolen with their cargo. And when they are, you can track the location of your stolen assets in real time — and even recover them. This was never possible before industrial IoT.
The implications of this innovation are huge. It means you can minimize legwork and maximize returns as you seek to locate stolen freight. Working with local authorities has always been a challenge for shippers, because they often have other priorities on their plate. But when you can provide the precise, real-time location of your cargo, you don’t just make their job easier — you make your job easier, as well.
Minimizing Your Losses
Even if you can’t recover cargo, you’ll still be able to mitigate your losses. That’s because you’ll be empowered to file more detailed, successful claims.
When filing an insurance claim after a theft has occurred, you’ll have much more information on the theft — when and where it occurred, what the circumstances were, and even where the cargo was taken next. This helps you know who to file the claim with, and increases the chances that you’ll be reimbursed for your losses.
More Insights into Your Cargo
Of course, Delivery Chain’s industrial IoT–powered asset tracker offers plenty of advantages in addition to aiding you in the recovery of stolen items. But every feature of your asset tracker is designed to help you minimize losses.
For instance, Delivery Chain’s geofencing technology adds an extra layer of security. Our unique “deadline geofence” trigger automatically notifies you when your cargo reaches key waypoints. That way, even if a thief discards your asset tracker, you’ll know that your cargo isn’t where it’s supposed to be and what its last known location was.
Meanwhile, Delivery Chain’s integrations ensure that you’re immediately notified if your cargo experiences a temperature change or a G-force impact. These, too, can be signs of a theft in progress, and they’ll help you piece together the story of when and where your freight was stolen. You can even check in real time to see whether your cargo is at rest or in motion, so you can plan the best course of action for recovery and know which authorities to contact.
Cargo theft is on the rise, so don’t sit idly by. Empower your supply chain with smart asset-tracker technology. Contact Delivery Chain today to learn how we can keep your cargo safe.