BSI special reports

BSI and TT Club highlight in this report the cargo crime trends that characterized 2023 supply chains and provide mitigation recommendations to combat these threats and better anticipate emerging risks in 2024. These threats include shifting crime patterns against the current macroeconomic backdrop, new fraudulent methods of thefts perpetrated by criminal gangs, and historical patterns of geographic risk.

In this report, Roanoke and BSI collectively assessed cargo crime in 2022 compared to previous years. During 2022, we tracked a gradual return to pre-pandemic levels in cargo crime. These shifts are primarily due to the gradual decrease in global demand for goods returning to pre-pandemic levels in 2019. As demand eases, so does the volume of trade. However, this reduced demand, coupled with alleviated port congestion, is not leading to a drop off in cargo crime. Instead, it leads to shifts in target goods, tactics, and how criminal organizations infiltrate the supply chain to steal or tamper with these commodities.

Recognizing that the associated risk landscape is dynamic, TT Club, BSI, and ALOG Chile have compiled mitigation guidance that operators can consider when assessing their risk profiles. The risks identified through this report are diverse; as with other countries and regions, the criminals behind freight crime activity are agile, reacting quickly to changes in market forces and opportunities from emerging weaknesses in the supply chain.