BSI, TT Club & TAPA EMEA Cargo Theft Report

BSI, TT Club and TAPA EMEA have authored this report to demonstrate their shared goal of educating the transportation and manufacturing sectors about the dynamic cargo theft risks present across the globe. With the enhanced awareness of cargo crime trends, the industry will be able to engage in a proactive approach in preventing cargo crime and also minimising the financial loss and brand reputation damage that results from cargo crime.

Introduction:

BSI publishes this report in coordination with TT Club and TAPA EMEA. BSI Supply Chain Services and Solutions is the leading global supply chain intelligence provider, auditing services, audit & risk management compliance solutions, and advisory services. BSI’s charter is to help corporations, governments, and associations identify, manage, and mitigate global supply chain risks and maintain world-class governance, risk, and compliance programs. BSI’s holistic supply chain risk management suite is designed to predict and visualize risk and develop robust risk mitigation and compliance management programs to protect global supply chains, brands, and reputation. BSI’s intelligence-infused supply chain solutions and global network empower the clients to understand global supply chain risk with unequaled precision.

TT Club is the established market-leading independent provider of mutual insurance and related risk management services to the international transport and logistics industry. The Club’s services include specialist underwriting, claims management, and risk and loss management advice, supported by a global office network. TT Club’s primary objective is to help make the industry safer and more secure. Established in 1968, TT Club has more than 1100 Members, spanning owners and operators, ports and terminals, and logistics companies, working across maritime, road, rail, and air. Members range from some of the world’s largest logistics operators to smaller, bespoke companies managing similar risks. The Club is renowned for its high-quality service, in-depth industry knowledge, and enduring Member loyalty. It retains more than 97% of its Members with a third of its entire membership having chosen to insure with the Club for 20 years or more. TT Club is managed by Thomas Miller - an independent and international provider of insurance, professional, and investment services. 

The Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) is a not-for-profit industry that helps Manufacturers/Shippers and Logistics Service Providers minimise losses resulting from cargo thefts and to increase the security and resilience of their supply chains. Today, in the Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region, the Association provides a host of certifiable, independently-audited industry Standards for facilities, trucking operations and secure parking as well as training. The TAPA EMEA Intelligence System (TIS) also provide the latest and historic recorded incident intelligence, enabling more secure route planning by helping members understand when, where and how criminals are targeting supply chains, and the products most frequently stolen. The Association strongly advocates the reporting of all cargo thefts to increase industry knowledge of risks and to assist companies’ loss prevention strategies. TAPA EMEA’s President and CEO is Thorsten Neumann. TAPA EMEA has contributed to the Europe, Middle East & Africa content of this report.

Global cargo theft trends:

Throughout 2021, global supply chains continued to face significant security, continuity, and resiliency threats due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and although its impact seems to lessen in the early stages of 2022, it caused disruptions and major delays throughout 2021, and still has massive residual impacts globally. Many of the concerns BSI, TT Club, and TAPA EMEA monitored throughout 2021 set the tone for continued risk to supply chain security in 2022, but simultaneously new challenges and risks are likely to play a large role, such as the ongoing conflict in Ukraine which is disrupting many industries on the short-term, and could have a variety of long-term effects. This report seeks to highlight the cargo security threats that plagued supply chains in 2021 and provide organizations with mitigation techniques to combat these threats, and considers some of the emerging risks we anticipate in the upcoming months and years. BSI, TT Club, and TAPA EMEA have identified five key themes that stood out as we looked back on 2021:

• A strong increase in idle times due to significant port congestion throughout the year
• The emerging risks of insider theft
• The vulnerabilities that come with increased use of digital means by suppliers
• Consequences of an urgent need to change the locations of suppliers, and what to keep in mind during that process
• Lastly, in a case study, we unpack how cargo thefts from railway locations and trains has shown to be an increased weakness in supply chains, particularly in the region of Los Angeles in the United States.