Northbridge Insurance: Cargo thieves are targeting meat shipments, trailers

Company issues a warning as peak period arrives for unusual incidents

Northbridge Insurance: Cargo thieves are targeting meat shipments, trailers

Motor & Fleet

By Lyle Adriano

A new whitepaper report from Northbridge Insurance has revealed that Canadian cargo thieves are after easy meat – literally.

The report, which tracks the most commonly stolen loads in 2018, identified grocery and household items as the most commonly stolen cargo. Most notably, meat products are becoming a primary target for theft, the insurer found.

According to Northbridge Insurance’s claims data for 2018, one stolen load of meat was valued at $200,000.

Northbridge also found that cargo itself is not the only thing thieves are after – the trailers are being targeted as well. Once dismantled into pieces, the trailers are “virtually impossible” to recover.

“These losses are having a direct impact on carriers’ bottom lines, and bring a huge reputational risk,” said Northbridge Insurance claims special investigations unit leader Garry Robertson. “For consumers, stolen products are often hiding in plain sight. The saying, ‘it fell off the back of a truck,’ may once have referred to a great deal, but it’s important to start asking where goods are coming from. Eventually, costs will increase.”

Other key findings of the report include:

  • Although most reported theft occurs in Ontario, more consistent reporting from western Canada suggests an increase in missing lumber loads and heavy equipment.
  • Thieves are now breaching online broker sites to choose high-value deliveries and collect them ahead of schedule by assuming false identities.
  • The holidays are a peak time for cargo theft, as more goods travel in preparation for the season.

 

 

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