Cargo theft happens throughout points of the distribution system, including warehouses, receiving and shipping platforms, storage areas, depots, distribution centres, terminals and piers. Estimates show that organised crime accounts for 15- 20% of the value of all cargo theft, with insiders posing a significant threat to cargo in transit.One method of keeping tabs on tractors and trailers is to install an electronic proximity identification and reconciliation system. Each vehicle and trailer is fitted with a transponder or tag and each driver can be issued with a tag so that, when a vehicle passes a monitoring point, the identities of the tractor unit and trailer or of the driver and vehicle are detected by a reader or receiver and then recorded.
This makes it possible to keep a record of which tractor units are pulling which trailers when leaving a goods yard, to monitor which vehicles are being driven by which drivers at a terminal, etc.
This, and other developments in cargo security, will be addressed in Transport and Distribution Security, one of the subjects addressed on Security Management Stage 2, 15-26 October.
