Although the number remained steady, the threat of cargo theft continues to grow in the United States due to increased organization and innovation on the part of cargo thieves. Overall, the United States is ranked as high threat level for cargo thefts on the FreightWatch five-point risk scale, which ascends from low to moderate, elevated, high and finally to severe.

Some of the most notable trends covered in this report are:

"¢ Full-truckload pharmaceutical thefts jumped by 50 percent.

"¢ California full-truckload pharmaceutical thefts spiked from 0 to 5; Illinois tripled volume.

"¢ Driver thefts increased by 44 percent.

"¢ Food/drinks thefts rose 34.42 percent; thefts of several product subtypes more than doubled.

"¢ California logged 92 percent of all recorded thefts of nuts.

"¢ Thefts targeting the electronics sector surged 35.9 percent in California.

"¢ New Jersey experienced a 158 percent jump in food/drinks thefts, with an unusual concentration on seafood.

"¢ Southwest Dallas became a new hijacking hotspot.

"¢ While cargo theft plunged in Pennsylvania, the pharmaceutical theft rate soared above the national average.

The full report is available from the FreightWatch web site.

Source: FreightWatch International