Page 27 - ATR 2 2015 web

freight heist

Establishing good habits for avoiding cargo theft

by Todd Traub Additionally, there has been a recent dangeR Zones
Contributing Writer spike in reported cargo theft in the West Last year’s theft “hot spots” contin-
It’s not necessarily war, but cargo Memphis and Forrest City areas. ued to be found in Florida, California,
theft could mean life or death. So CalArk vice president of safety Texas, Georgia and New Jersey — virtu-
The number of cargo thefts within and compliance Dennis Hilton, a for- ally unchanged from the year before —
the trucking and transportation indus- mer marine who likes to apply combat and the thefts amounted to almost all of
try decreased last year from 2013, but lessons to driver preparedness, contin- the cargo heists in the nation, according
the value of the stolen loads increased ues to stress caution and awareness to to the 2014 cargo theft report issued by
and, with potential thieves using tech- those out on the road. FreightWatch International, the Austin,
nology and more sophisticated methods, “My philosophy of life is you’ve got Texas-based freight security firm.
the threat of theft is higher this year, to expect the unexpected,” Hilton said.
experts say.  38

aRkansas TRuCking RepoRT | issue 2 2015 27