The top 10 U.S. counties where cargo theft incidents are reported was topped by Los Angeles County, with 329 thefts reported spanning July 1, 2013, through July 1, 2016. More than a third of those took place at a warehouse or distribution center (DC). The list was compiled with data from CargoNet.
The complete list is:
- Los Angeles County, CA
- Dallas County, TX
- San Bernardino County, CA
- Cook County (Chicago), IL
- Miami-Dade County, FL
- Harris County (Houston), TX
- Tarrant County (Arlington/Fort Worth), TX
- Middlesex County (Edison), NJ
- Will County (Bolingbrook), IL
- Riverside County, CA
Theft by Location
The most common place that reported cargo theft incidents occurred among the top 10 counties was in or around warehouses and DC facilities. The breakdown of theft locations is as follows:
- Warehouse/DC: 329 thefts
- Other: 295
- Parking lot: 170
- Secured yard: 166
- Unsecured yard: 120
Other theft locations cited in the research include truck stops, side of the road, carrier or terminal lots, drop lots, and ports of entry.
"Cargo theft continues to be a pervasive issue," said Anthony Canale, general manager of CargoNet. "Our 2015 year-end report indicated 881 incidents of cargo theft took place across North America. That increased from 844 cargo thefts reported in 2014 and accounted for more than $175 million in goods. While thieves continue to get more tech-savvy with their approaches, there are measures that can be put in place to stop them, ranging from proactive deterrence tactics to extensive recovery assistance."