There has been a whopping 79% spike in recorded food supply chain thefts in 2024 across the globe, according to new data, against a backdrop of severe climate events, inflation and new fraud practices.
In the UK, food and beverage is now the top product category stolen across the supply chain (20%), followed by alcohol (14%), showed exclusive new data from supply chain intelligence provider BSI Consulting.
This trend is expected to continue into 2025, experts predict, as persistent inflation and rising food prices make these goods particularly alluring to criminals.
Additionally, severe weather events were a lead disruptor to agricultural production, which contributed to increased prices, theft and adulteration, BSI said.
Electronics, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and perfume and tobacco products were also heavily targeted by criminals in the UK.
The most common theft type was by far having goods stolen from a container or trailer (37%), while theft of the actual entire container was also a popular move among criminals, reported in 9% of incidents.
The top theft location in the UK was warehouses, which thieves targeted in 58% of instances. This was followed by production facility (21%), in-transit (11%) and delivery site (4%).
Supply chain crime has been on the rise in recent years, with freight crime now expected to cost the UK logistics industry a whopping £6.1bn by 2049.
Consumer goods and fuel theft from lorries has become more common, with criminals taking advantage of inflation to target goods like alcohol and tobacco, the National Freight & Cargo Crime Unit has previously warned.
“As geopolitical tensions, economic fluctuations, climate-driven disruptions, rapid regulatory shifts and of course the opportunity of AI redefine traditional models of operation, we are at a pivotal moment for global supply chains,” said BSI chief executive Susan Taylor Martin.
Read more: Britain’s cargo theft crisis: why crime is rising on UK roads
Globally, food, drinks, and agricultural products continued to be the top commodities at risk of theft in the global supply chain, accounting for nearly a third (32%) of all incidents last year, amid persistent inflation and rising food prices in many major economies.
Food and beverage thefts rose 79% year on year, with a 73% rise for agriculture, with the two categories accounting for approximately half of all in-transit hijackings.
Food and beverage represented 22% of all product thefts and one in three (29%) supply chain hijackings.
Agriculture products represented 10% of all product thefts. Notable incidents last year included the $2.5m theft of premium olive oil in the US and the theft of nearly 1,000 tonnes of soybeans in Argentina.
The US and Europe experienced a high number of thefts from facilities often marked by deception and insider involvement from employees or drivers rather than overt violence, BSI’s analysis showed.
The UK, the US, Brazil, India and Germany also experienced a rise in strategic thefts as thieves turned to fraud – “using deception and digital tools to achieve the same ends with far less risk”.
Hijacking theft was the most frequent tactic globally, accounting for 21% of all incidents (up 10% in 2023). The global retail industry was particularly impacted by this type of theft as incidents rose from 9% in 2023 to 11% in 2024.
Overall, two-fifths (41%) of all global thefts occurred in transit, 21% from warehouses, 4% at unsecured roadside parking, and 4% from parking lots, BSI data showed.
Thefts from containers and trailers were down 7%, as thieves globally stole cargo in the form of entire vehicles (up 273% and accounting for a fifth of all cargo thefts).
The analysis also uncovered cases of companies or employees “staging the hijacking of their own trucks to file fraudulent insurance claims, or warehouse managers and employees taking advantage of incomplete records to siphon untracked goods”.
Thieves stealing small quantities over time, which eventually accumulated to large losses, also became more common.
BSI experts also warned that Donald Trump’s protectionist approach and its ripple effects on global trade meant businesses now faced even more disruption to their supply chains.
Sergio Nogueira, BSI Consulting president, said: “With the new US administration shifting the approach to global trade, this report highlights the multifaceted challenges that businesses must navigate in their supply chain, from trade disruption and tariffs, to rising instances of fraud and insider risks or the growing vulnerabilities introduced by the digitization of systems.
“These challenges are not isolated but deeply interconnected, emphasising the need for a holistic approach to supply chain resilience – viewing all risks together through a single lens.”
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