Cargo theft and the impact on transportation costs

According to a survey carried out by the JCC Cargo Watchlist and published in the first week of March, Brazil is now considered the sixth country with the highest risk for cargo transport. The index takes into account areas of war, where passing through with cargo becomes much more risky and dangerous, in addition to other factors such as strikes, piracy and cargo theft.

Brazil is behind only Yemen, Libya and Syria (tied in first place), Afghanistan and South Sudan. It is important to note that all these countries ahead of Brazil have been facing armed conflicts in recent years. Brazil occupies the 6th position exclusively due to cargo thefts that, year after year, are more sophisticated and more frequent.

From January to March 2017, we got worse in the ranking. This increase was driven by the increase in crime on the main highways that cross the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Together, these two states account for around 80% of cargo thefts. In Rio de Janeiro, robberies are more frequent in communities dominated by crime or militia, where loads are quickly removed from the truck and passed on to middlemen. In São Paulo, robberies are carried out by specialized gangs linked to large criminal factions.

Among the most dangerous highways, the stretches of the BR-116 highways (Curitiba – São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro – São Paulo) stand out; SP-330 (Uberaba – Port of Santos) and BR-050 (Brasília – Santos). It is important to point out that some of these highways are granted to the private sector, where tolls are paid, but public safety is still a problem.

The increase in cargo theft ultimately impacts freight. On routes of up to 100 km, the insurance cost is around 4%, on routes longer than 1.000 km, it is 2%. The problem is that this cost can double if the loads pass through dangerous stretches. And in more extreme cases, when there is a need to hire an armed escort, the security cost can reach 1/3 of the transport cost.

Anyway, in addition to the risk for the driver and the operation, thefts end up impacting the cost of freight and, ultimately, the price we pay for products. The question is: when will this problem be solved in our country?

While this is not resolved, logistics executives are challenged daily to deal with thefts, to take out increasingly expensive insurance and, above all, to train drivers and teams so that, in risky situations, they do not react and do not lose Your lives.