Is Cargo Crime a Big Risk to Nordics Supply Chains?
Beyond Sweden, reporting of freight thefts to TAPA EMEA in the other Nordic countries remains relatively low, making this a hot topic for the Association’s Regional Conference in Copenhagen on 14 & 15 September.
As always, the question is simple. Is the level of cargo crime within the TAPA EMEA Intelligence System (TIS) a true reflection of the incident rates companies and law enforcement agencies are witnessing?
Cargo thieves active in Denmark
Of the other Nordic countries, only Denmark reports regular incidents to the TIS database, a total of 99 crimes in the two years to 1 July 2023. Analysis of these crimes shows:
- €18,249,993 in total losses for all crimes with a value
- But these include a single incident involving an unspecified theft from a facility in Nørresundby in the North of Denmark which reported a loss of €17,869,520 in January 2022
- This was one of only two major crimes identified. The other loss of €143,725 occurred in Kolding in southern Denmark in May 2023 but no further intelligence was shared
- Other lower value freight thefts included €80,000 of perfume stolen in Grønsundvej, €30,000 of tools targeted in Køge, and seven pallets of IT parts worth €20,000 in Tappernøje
Despite the relatively low rate of cargo crimes reported to TAPA EMEA, police activities would seem to indicate a much bigger threat. Earlier this month, one media report highlighted the recovery of 277 bicycles worth some one million Danish kroner (approx. €134,000) onboard a Swedish-registered truck heading to Germany, which, the report stated, reflected the ‘Danish police’s changed focus on their border controls so that more of these now take place inland. All in order to combat organised crime.’
Targeting of the vehicle, the media source added, was no coincidence and followed cooperation with Europol between Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian police to locate the truck. The Lithuanian driver, who has been wanted in Norway for similar crimes, was arrested.
Bicycles are just one of 12 TIS product categories which have recorded losses in Denmark in this 2-year analysis period, alongside car parts, clothing and footwear, computers/laptops, cosmetics and hygiene, food and drink, furniture and household appliances, pharmaceuticals, phones, tools and building materials, and toys and games.
Similar to neighbouring Sweden, cargo thefts in Denmark mostly involve tarpaulin slashing, and little use of violence. Some 89% of recorded crimes see criminals stealing goods from vehicles, with 71 of the 99 cases in the last two years reported as Theft from Trailer. Theft from Facility crimes were recorded in Albertslund, Fredensborg, Fredericia, Odense, Søllested, and Vamdrup.
Supply chain crimes in Norway and Finland
The TAPA EMEA Nordics Conference will aim to establish if cargo crime is a big issue for supply chains in Norway and Finland, because little market intelligence has been reported to the Association over the past two years.
The TIS database has recorded just 20 freight theft incidents in Norway in 24 months to the end of July 2023, including only a single major loss of €100,000 following the theft of GPS equipment from an unclassified parking location in Trondheim in January last year.
The seven losses in Norway sharing a value contributed to a total loss over this period of €267,593. The highest recorded theft reported to TIS in 2023 to date was the €64,000 loss of truck parts from five vehicles parked at an Authorised 3rd Party Facility in Stokke in southeastern Norway on 11 February.
Thefts of truck parts featured regularly in TIS incident reports over this period. In Sundbyfoss in Vestfold, light switchboards were stolen from eight trucks at another Authorised 3rd Party Facility. Other goods targeted in Norway included tools and building materials, fuel, tobacco, and phone accessories.
Locations in Norway where cargo thieves were also active included Askerbygda, Berg, Furnes, Hagen, Lena, Løken, Oslo, Skytta, Sørumsand, Stavanger, Stokke, Trøgstad, Vågå, Vikersund, and Vormsund.
Even less is currently known about risks to supply chain security in Finland. Over this 2-year reporting period to the end of July 2023, just nine freight thefts were reported to the TIS database. The only crime with a value was the €153,745 loss recorded from a facility in Kaarina in southwest Finland on 27 January 2022. No product details were reported. Fuel, food, and metal were targeted in other crimes, while locations of cargo crimes also included Helsinki, Lahti, Mikkel, Muonio, Pornainen, Riihimäki, and Rovaniemi.
The TIS database contains no reports of cargo thefts in the other Nordic countries – Iceland, the Faroe Islands Greenland and Åland – in the last two years.
TAPA EMEA members with information on cargo thefts in the Nordic countries, or potential sources of market intelligence, are asked to forward information to tisteam@tapaemea.org
