BSI and TT Club co-author this report to educate the transportation and manufacturing sectors about the dynamic cargo theft risks present across the globe.

While the conversation has shifted from COVID-19-related disruptions and subsequent trade congestion, supply chains continue to face a myriad of challenges, ranging from geopolitical tensions and conflict, to worsening natural disasters, to digital-powered disruption. As we see new effects of inflation on cargo crime, we're also tracking historical patterns of thefts that preceded and followed the COVID-19 era.

For instance, the usage of deception in thefts in South Africa or violent cargo thefts in South America are not new issues, but nonetheless continued pose an evolving threat to the supply chain, especially as they intersect with newer issues like inflation.

Looking more closely at inflation or the loss of purchasing power, we can track the effects of this macroeconomic factor on crime patterns. We have noted a steady increase in thefts targeting food and beverage over the past few years, increasing from 16% in 2022 to 21% in 2023. Parallel to this gradual shift in the theft of basic goods are sustained thefts of higher value goods like electronics.

BSI and TT Club highlight in this report the cargo crime trends that characterise 2023 supply chains and provide mitigation recommendations to combat these threats and better anticipate emerging risks in 2024. These threats include shifting crime patterns against the current macroeconomic backdrop, new fraudulent methods of thefts perpetrated by criminal gangs, and historical patterns of geographic risk.

To explore these themes, we will present several case studies including credit fraud in Europe, “blue light gangs” in South Africa, fraudulent thefts in the United States and others. As we look ahead, we provide mitigation recommendations throughout the report to reduce the threats we explore.