Half of the 129 retailers surveyed this year by the National Retail Federation reported that they were victims of cargo theft in the past year. The majority (57.4 percent) of these organized retail cargo thefts occur between the distribution center and the store.
What's more, the survey reveals retailers are victimized at other points along the supply chain, including between the manufacturer and the distribution center (39.7 percent), at the distribution center (22.1 percent), and as merchandise moves from one store to another (22.1 percent). According to the FBI, cargo is any commercial shipment moving via trucks, planes, rail cars, ships, etc., from point of origin to final destination. If merchandise is stolen at any point in between-highway, truck stop, storage facility, warehouse, terminal, wharf, etc.-then it's considered cargo theft.
