Cargo theft incidents in the U.S. decline year-over-year in Q3, but average loss amount rises

More than 200 cargo theft incidents occurred in the United States in the third quarter of the year, FreightWatch International reported Wednesday.

In the quarter, the organization recorded 194 194 Full-Truckload (FTL) cargo thefts and 14 Last-Mile Courier thefts for a total of 208 incidents in the U.S.

Seventy FTL thefts occurred in July, 76 in August, and 48 in September, and the average loss value per incident during the quarter was $321,521, according to FreightWatch.

Read more: Cargo theft a hit to Canadian economy, security: fraud forum

Compared with the same quarter of 2013, the volume of thefts declines by 20%; however, the average loss value increased by 104%.

“The average loss-value ceiling continues to rise and illustrates that organized cargo thieves continue to aggressively target high value freight,” the organization said.

Food and drink accounted for 18% of all thefts, the most of any industry during the third quarter of this year, followed closely by electronics, at 17% of all thefts.

With 42 thefts, California was the state with the most incidents, followed by Florida, which accounted for 17% of all thefts.