We have a problem.
On top of all the other challenges our industry faces, we're getting ripped off everyday – quite literally, in fact. I'm referring to truck cargo crime, a problem that costs $5 billion in this country and half-a-million dollars a day in the GTA alone according to various sources; and highlighted in the CTA report on Cargo Crime in Canada released last spring. But that's really just the tip of the iceberg. This type of crime is being perpetrated by large organized criminal enterprises that use the proceeds to fund drugs and weapons smuggling, fraud, human trafficking and other illegal activities detrimental to society, including misconduct that could be a threat to national security. Cargo that is stolen and sold in illegal markets shifts revenues from legitimate businesses to criminals and depletes tax revenues. And, most disturbingly, it is becoming increasingly violent putting hard-working truck drivers and other industry employees at grave risk.
Police and insurance companies estimate that as much as 60% of cargo crime incidents go unreported. Carriers complain that even when the authorities are alerted, cargo crime doesn't have a high enough profile to receive much of a response. That's a conundrum.
