Global inflationary trends are influencing the patterns of cargo crime, according to the latest Annual Cargo Theft Report for 2022 from partners TT Club, TAPA EMEA, and BSI SCREEN Intelligence.

The report showed an overall decline in global incidents over the previous year but with increasing emphasis on basic goods, food and beverages, fuel and auto parts linked to the inflationary effect on the value of such items. 

The theft of high-value electronics also remains constant.

"As in the past, the united trend analysis and experience of the three organisations, international freight insurer TT Club, the Transported Asset Protection Association’s Europe, Middle East & Africa region (TAPA EMEA), and BSI, the business improvement and standards consultants, supply concerted insight to the changing dynamics of cargo theft around the world," it said.

The report's "salient conclusions" are a consistent level of theft from facilities, an increase in container and trailer theft, a global reduction in hijackings, easing of international losses from unsecured parking and from areas adjacent to port facilities.

"Inflationary trends affect black market demand for more basic goods," it added, and food and beverages, auto parts, and fuel are all increasingly targeted.

The Annual Cargo Theft Report for 2022 also found that high-end electronics remain a frequent target.

"The over-arching trend is for criminals to adapt to inflation and lessened port congestion and evolve more fraudulent methods of targeting specific goods," the report said.

Mike Yarwood, MD Loss Prevention at TT, noted how the report explores these themes in more detail by way of case studies that look at how social unrest in Latin America, particularly Chile, Peru and Brazil, has provided a weakness exploited by thieves.

"Also, how in South Asia crime involving fraudulent practices, like fictitious pickups to target cargo, are manifest," Yarwood said.

Of the increases in various types of commodities stolen, as illustrated above, TAPA EMEA identified a significant year-on-year rise in the number of fuel thefts recorded in the region, one of the most prominent trends recorded.

"This is clearly driven by the impact of the war in Ukraine on global oil prices and the cost-of-living crisis affecting consumers in many countries. We gathered intelligence on fuel losses in 28 countries across EMEA, but mostly in Germany and the United Kingdom, which accounted for 72%," Thorsten Neumann, president & CEO of TAPA EMEA, said separately.

"Higher value fuel crimes also signalled the involvement of bigger organised crime groups, notably thefts from fuel depots," Neumann added.

The report pointed out that, consistent with past publications, advice on steps that can be taken to mitigate the risk of theft is offered in the report.