The global economic downturn will lead to an increase in incidents of cargo crime, says a warning from the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA). At least that's the prediction for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Latest statistics from the association's Incident Information Service for the EMEA region show 3,756 reported incidents of cargo crime during 2008 with a total loss value of more than 170.6m (about $214m). This figure will continue to grow with incident data still being collated for last year.
Just over 10 percent of crimes reported in 32 countries in EMEA in 2008 were classified by TAPA as "major incidents." More than 72 percent of the reported crimes were received from the U.K., representing 2,720 incidents. Spain and Germany were the second- and third-highest reporting crime areas with 254 and 207 reported thefts.
"The figures we are starting to see for 2008 reinforce our message that no one can afford to be complacent about cargo crime," says Gilad Solnik, with TAPA's EMEA information service.
Source: Transported Asset Protection Association