Holiday weekends notoriously show an increase in cargo theft risks for transportation companies, shippers and manufacturers. 

Organized theft rings are active and understand that holiday weekends mean more shipments left unattended for extended periods of time. Labor Day Weekend of 2012 recorded thefts at a rate of 4.4 per day, which is a 63% increase in cargo theft for the holiday weekend when compared to the annual average.

Historically, FreightWatch has recorded high theft levels, including pharmaceuticals, electronics and several $1 million-plus valued thefts over Labor Day Weekend.
 
FreightWatch recommends that logistics and security professionals ensure security protocols are up to date and in line with industry best practices for both in transit and warehouse operations. Both will be heavily targeted over the weekend. 

Also, in order to mitigate criminal’s attempts to exploit cargo at rest, double check that receiver’s hours of operation for the holiday weekend are consistent with scheduled delivery times.  If available, covert tracking and active monitoring of high value shipments is highly recommended as it has proven to be the most effective protocol to mitigate in-transit theft.