Data Shows Significant Rise in High Value Thefts from Supply Chains in EMEA
Recorded high value crimes are continuing to soar in the Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region with cargo thefts from supply chains with a value of €100K or more up 27% year-over-year, according to data for the opening 10 months of 2023 reported to the TAPA EMEA Intelligence System (TIS).
The top 48 incidents by value were all >€1 million crimes, a category dominated by two incidents in Belgium and Germany involving miscellaneous products and metal, which accounted for €300m of the year-to-date total.
Even when these two crimes are not accounted for, TIS data shows a combined loss of €225,383,581 for the remaining 254 major thefts, an average of €887,336 over a period of just 302 days. This equates to losses of goods worth over €746,303 every 24 hours.
Outside of the six-, seven- and eight- and nine-figure financial losses reported to the Association in 2023, a further 1,939 incidents which shared a loss value added a further >€28.2m to the YTD total.
Obtaining financial loss values, however, remained challenging in the January-October 2023 period. Only 4.4% of cargo crimes reported to TAPA EMEA in this timescale stated the cost of the loss.
Six countries in EMEA suffered the most individual losses of goods from supply chains worth €100K or more:
- Germany – 49 incidents with a total loss value of €. 127,442,049 (including the major €100m loss referenced earlier).
- France – 41 and a combined loss of €. 52,861,879
- South Africa – 41 with a total value of €. 17,657,760
- Spain – 23 and €. 19,034,961
- United Kingdom – 21 incidents with a value of €. 76,021,153
TIS also recorded major thefts of goods from supply chains in 18 other countries in EMEA over these 10 months, headed by eight incidents in the Netherlands, six in Russia, and four in Poland. The other countries were Albania, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopia, Hungary, Lebanon, Morocco, Nigeria, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.
High value losses were reported in 18 TIS product categories, including the top 10 of:
- Metal – 16 incidents
- Miscellaneous Electronics – 15
- Food & Drink – 11
- Cash – 10
- Cosmetics & Hygiene – 9
- Tobacco – 8
- Tools/Building Materials – 6
- Automotive Parts – 5
- Clothing & Footwear – 5
- Jewellery/Precious Metals – 5
Other categories recording high value cargo thefts were Agricultural Materials, Bicycles/Two Wheelers, Computers/Laptops, Furniture/Household Appliances, Pharmaceuticals, No Load (Theft of truck and/or trailer), Phones, and Tyres.
The 2023 YTD intelligence compares to 195 cargo thefts of goods reported to TIS in the opening 10 month of 2022 which recorded a combined loss of €97,359,892.
“We have seen some very substantial and high-profile thefts and losses from supply chains in our region in 2023, which we assume is predominantly the work of Organised Crime Groups (OCGs). These statistics will shock a lot of people who do not have a supply chain security background, but they are still likely to be only part of the true picture of cargo crime in EMEA because TAPA only receives what we believe is a relatively small percentage of data for all cargo crimes. It does, however, highlight the stakes involved in protecting supply chains from criminal attacks and the growing risks our industry faces,” said Marcel Saarloos, Chair of TAPA EMEA.
