Cargo theft in June: Germany leads again as Spain records the biggest rise, says TAPA

The latest Cargo Crime Monitor figures point to a sharp month-on-month rise in reporting. TAPA EMEA logged 1,540 incidents in May and 2,181 in June.

While the number of reports climbed by 41.6%, the value of recorded losses dropped by more than half. This does not necessarily indicate better security; it mainly reflects a lack of valuations. In June, a loss amount was provided for only 8.6% of incidents, down from 17.6% in May.

More incidents, fewer with a stated loss value

Across the 189 June incidents where the value of stolen goods was disclosed, total losses reached 11,453,803 euros. That puts the average loss per valued incident at 60,602 euros.

In May, the database included valuations for 272 incidents. Their combined losses were 23,820,582 euros, with an average of 87,575 euros per valued case.

From May to June:

• The number of valued incidents fell by 83 (down 30.5%).
• Total documented losses dropped by 12,366,779 euros (down 51.9%).
• Average loss per valued incident decreased by 30.8%.
• The share of incidents with a stated value fell by 9 percentage points.

In other words, the 11.45 million euros figure for June captures only the portion of losses that were assessed and entered into TAPA’s database.

Fewer thefts above 100,000 euros

TAPA recorded 30 thefts in June with losses of at least 100,000 euros. The average loss within this group was 318,731 euros. In May, there were 60 such incidents — twice as many — with an average loss of 343,069 euros.

The organisation also logged 13 June incidents valued between 50,000 and 100,000 euros, together accounting for losses of 912,623 euros. In May, 27 incidents fell into the 50,000 to 100,000 euros bracket, with combined losses of 1,731,567 euros.

The average daily value of reported losses dropped from 768,405 euros in May to 381,793 euros in June — a little more than half.

Hamburg saw the biggest single loss

June’s largest individual case was a fraudulent pick-up involving a tungsten carbide shipment at a sea freight facility in Hamburg. The incident occurred on 9 June, with losses estimated at 1,179,000 euros.

In May, the biggest reported loss was 1,514,272 euros, linked to the theft of assorted goods from a truck in Heimsheim, in Germany’s Baden-Württemberg state.

Germany remains the main hotspot

Germany reported the highest number of incidents in June, with 440 cases. That is 97 more than in May, a rise of 28.3%.

The next countries in the ranking were:

• Italy — 320 incidents, up from 176 in May
• Spain — 280 incidents, up from 111 in May
• France — 262 incidents, up from 139 in May
• United Kingdom — 224 incidents, up from 169 in May

Within the top five, Spain posted the steepest increase: up by 169 incidents, or more than 152%. Italy added 144 incidents month on month, while France rose by 123.

Together, the five most-affected countries accounted for 1,526 incidents in June — around 70% of all reports. In May, the top five made up 938 incidents, or about 60.9% of the monthly total.

Rises across many European markets

Beyond the top five, several other European countries also saw more incidents reported.

• Belgium increased from 63 to 80 incidents.
• Greece rose from 26 to 57.
• Poland edged up from 23 to 25.
• Austria recorded 29 incidents in June.
• Sweden reached 28 reports.

However, the trend was not universal. The Netherlands saw incidents fall from 92 in May to 53 in June.

TAPA also recorded 24 incidents in the Czech Republic in June and 23 in Romania.

Theft from vehicles overtook theft from facilities

The most common category in June was theft from vehicles, with 708 reports — 247 more than in May.

Other leading categories were:

• theft from facilities — 476 incidents,
• incidents logged under the general “theft” category — 404,
• trailer theft — 222,
• cargo stolen from trailers — 139,
• vehicle theft — 55,
• robbery — 50,
• counterfeit-related crime — 45,
• cargo or vehicle hijacking — 41.

In May, theft from facilities was the most frequently reported category (622 incidents), while theft from vehicles stood at 461.

Month on month, theft from facilities fell by 146 incidents, while theft from vehicles increased by 247. Reports of trailer theft and cargo stolen from trailers also rose.

Shifts between categories may reflect not only changing criminal tactics, but also how incidents are classified and entered into the database.

Break-ins remain the dominant tactic

TAPA also grouped incidents by modus operandi. In June, 1,382 cases (63.37% of all reports) were marked as intrusion or break-in.

In May, there were 1,029 such incidents, representing 66.86% of the total. That means break-ins increased by 353, although their share of overall incidents dipped slightly.

June also included:

• 532 incidents with no method specified.
• 123 cases involving an internal actor.
• 91 incidents involving violence or threats of violence.
• 47 other forms of fraud.
• 4 cases of fraudulent cargo collection.
• 2 thefts from a moving vehicle.

In May, the method was unknown in 203 incidents. Internal involvement was flagged in 48 cases, and violence or threats were reported in 122.

Violence-related incidents fell from 122 to 91, and their share dropped from 7.91% to 4.17%. At the same time, the number of cases without a specified method more than doubled.