High inflation continues to be the primary macroeconomic driver of rising cargo crime – particularly evident in the soaring theft of food and beverages.

This is the amongst the key findings of BSI SCREEN Intelligence and TT Club’s latest annual Cargo Theft Report.

Stolen food and beverages rose from 16% to 24% of the global total, with thefts made on the road the most common mode at 71%.

Mexico, the United States, South Africa, Germany and Italy are most at risk, with modus operandi differing by region – blue light crime is most prevalent in South Africa, whilst insider activity is the most cited MO in Asia.

Tony Pelli. practice director at BSI, commented: “Cargo theft is a problem that costs companies tens of billions of dollars each year and can cause significant disruption to important supply chains, from pharmaceutical products to semiconductors. Having accurate and up-to-date intelligence is the first step in combatting this problem and pinpointing the locations and types of theft that are most likely to harm global supply chains.”

TT’s managing director of loss prevention, Mike Yarwood, added: “In identifying shifting crime patterns in terms of new fraudulent methodologies and a focus on both historic and current geographic risk, we seek to assist operators in tightening their security processes,” further “In addition to the details of the global trends in commodities stolen and the types of theft we have provided a series of case studies drawing attention to prevalent regional or country specific dangers.”

These include an increase in olive oil thefts in Southern European countries following record poor harvests and a consequent rapid rise in the value of the oil, evidenced by the retail cost recorded on supermarket shelves.

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