US supply chains 'seeing rising security risks'

Supply chains in the US are seeing a growing risk of being affected by theft and criminal acts, according to new research from Freightwatch.

The logistics company has published figures showing that incidents of cargo theft rose by 8.3 per cent in 2011 to reach their highest levels ever, with 974 thefts occurring, compared to 899 the year before.

According to the report, in some cases criminals are taking advantage of ambiguity and poor communications in the supply chain to hijack shipments, while the rate of thefts was also shown to rise during holiday periods.

Freightwatch said the findings suggest the need for increased care over supply chain security issues, while also observing that the average value of items being stolen has fallen.

Barry Conlon, chief executive officer of FreightWatch, said: "This shows that shippers and the industry as a whole is beginning to secure high value cargo more effectively, forcing criminals to target less valuable loads."

Earlier this month, PricewaterhouseCoopers published a report showing that global public sector procurement staff are also having to cope with a rising rate of fraud cases in recent years.