5 Ways to Prevent Cargo Theft

Cargo theft is one of the most common threats faced by companies that manufacture food, apparel, electronics, and other in-demand consumer goods. Therefore, getting cheap truck insurance coverage helps you minimize unexpected expenses from unfortunate scenarios.

Cargo thieves mostly target truck stops and highway rest areas, as these areas account for more than one-third of all cargo theft-related incidents. In the U.S., cargo crime costs businesses an estimated several billion dollars a year. Imagine the damage if you don’t happen to have cheap truck insurance for your vehicles.

What makes the problem more difficult is that cargo theft tactics are constantly evolving. They make use of new methods involving the latest technology, which makes practically all types of goods fair game to these thieves.

These opportunists use several tactics in holding up cargo, from straight and strategic cargo theft to cyber and pilferage.

This is why businesses must get to know these emerging tactics so they can recognize their weak spots when it comes to transporting their goods and prevent potential cargo theft. You should do whatever it takes to protect the welfare of your fleet, your drivers, and your business.

Steps to Prevent Your Cargo From Being Stolen

Fortunately, there’s a lot you can do to safeguard your goods and prevent them from being stolen. In order to implement these measures, you will need the full cooperation of your drivers since they are the ones who are manually handling your trucks.

• Don’t Make Your Destination Public

There’s a reason why the saying loose lips sink ships remains one of the most popular ones around and this is especially true when it comes to transporting your goods.

Keeping your drop-off locations is crucial since it’s just too easy for thieves to target your destination. Implementing this means making your employees follow a company-wide policy of keeping distribution details secret.

• Initiate An Internal Audit at the Distribution Center

In order to make sure that your cargo will not go missing, it’s necessary that you maintain an assessment of your distribution center. Internal theft is unfortunately all too real and is one of the biggest problems for distributors. The key to pulling this off is having adequate surveillance technology that can monitor the comings and goings of personnel effectively.

You may have to deal with your employees committing collusive theft in which they may start to steal from the company and continue to do so as time goes by. Their stealing may increase in volume or frequency.

This is where having an effective inventory management system will prove invaluable. Employees will definitely think twice about stealing if they know audits are being done on a regular basis and chances are high that they can get caught.

Investigating both your inventory and employees allows you to stay on top of your cargo and lessen the chances of it getting stolen. It’s important that you investigate cargo shrinkage right away because you might lose the source of shrinkage if you keep putting it off. Ideally, you should investigate shrinkage on a daily basis or at least weekly if it’s not possible to do so.

• Implement a Layered Approach to Road Security

Good policies and procedures go beyond using trailer door padlocks all the time, especially when it comes to preventing straight cargo theft.

Thieves are always on the lookout for areas where cargo trucks can be left unattended. They will also take note of refrigerated trucks since this can indicate that there are valuable pharmaceutical products inside.

This is why both shippers and carriers should make sure that loaded trailers are always attended to, especially when in areas where there is high cargo theft. Trucks should be equipped with high-security rear door locks and air cuff locks as well.

You should also consider installing landing gear locks too just in case there really is a need to stage or drop a load.

• Choose Parking Spaces Wisely

Improper parking is one of the biggest causes of cargo theft. Companies can avoid this problem by promoting safe parking habits and giving clear instructions to their drivers on the safest places to park whenever they stop for breaks. This involves knowing where the most secure rest stops are and making sure that the drivers know where they are as well.

Knowing the safest places to park immensely helps when it comes to preventing cargo theft at drop-off points and gas stations. A safe parking spot means a place where there’s good lighting and close proximity to where the driver might go to get a bite to eat or use the restroom.

Drivers should also be permitted to report suspicious activities that may happen while they are out of the truck. This may sound plain common sense, but drivers should always remember to lock the door and remove the keys if they plan to step out of their trucks.

In addition, employing responsible drivers with great records makes it easier for you to get commercial truck insurance for your vehicles as well.

• Let Go Of Dishonest Employees

There should be no place for dishonest employees in your company. There are those that are just plain dishonest and there’s nothing you can do to change that and therefore you should just let them go.

Always be on the lookout for employees showing suspicious behavior and then monitor them discreetly. Getting information via anonymous tips is a great idea to spot possible deceit.

This is another instance in which conducting frequent audits will benefit you since this is an effective way to spot employees bringing trouble to your table. Simple initiatives such as putting up security cameras all over the place will do wonders for preventing dishonest activities in the workplace.

Protect Your Business with Commercial Truck Insurance

SoCal Truck Insurance is a name you can trust when it comes to commercial truck insurance. We are dedicated to providing you with the best policies and services on the market.

Enjoy reliable policies designed to meet your specific needs and save you substantial premium dollars as well.

You get support 24/7, which will certainly give you and your drivers peace of mind while your trucks are transporting valuable cargo from state to state.

To know more about our cheapest quotes, contact us at SoCal Truck Insurance today.