Manufacturers, shippers and freight and logistics service providers will meet in Johannesburg on 7 March 2023 to discuss ways to reduce rising cargo crime in South Africa at a special one-day conference hosted by the Transported Asset Protection Association’s (TAPA) Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region.

In its latest Cargo Crime 18-Month Report, the TAPA EMEA Intelligence System (TIS) recorded 2,670 cargo thefts in South Africa across all 9 provinces, including 2,236 truck hijackings as well as multiple attacks on freight facilities, costing businesses tens of millions of euros in product losses.

Crime data for the period shows a combined loss figure of €31.7 million (577 million Rand) – and this was based on only 3.4% of recorded crimes sharing their actual financial losses. The average loss for major incidents involving goods worth >€100K stood at €947,862 per crime (18.3m Rand), the Association says.

On March 7, TAPA EMEA’s leadership team will be joined by senior representatives from the South African Police Service (SAPS), Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA), DHL Express, Rhenus Logistics, TITAN Aviation Group, TCG Digital Forensics, and the International Platinum Group Metals Association to look at the impact of cargo crime on South Africa’s businesses and economy, and to offer advice on some of the solutions currently available to mitigate these risks.

Thorsten Neumann, President & CEO of TAPA EMEA, said :

“This event aims to help all supply chain stakeholders understand the level of cargo crime taking place across South Africa and to offer intelligence and solutions to increase their supply chain resilience and prevent losses. For victim companies, such high value losses impact customer relationships, damage their reputations, and can lead to rising costs, such as higher insurance premiums. And, tragically, as a result of the high level of violence seen in many attacks, we are also regularly notified of drivers, security guards, and law enforcement officers losing their lives during cargo crime incidents in South Africa,”