Cargo theft: worrying numbers

With the decline in the number of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic victims, the economy has begun to recover, and the forecast is that there will be a rebound in the services sector and the informal labor market in the first quarter of 2022, as a result of increased private investment, fiscal consolidation, higher savings rate, and already announced economic reforms. The forecast from the Secretariat of Economic Policy (SPE) of the Ministry of Economy is for a 2.5% growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2022. However, market analysts are less optimistic and predict a 1.63% growth in GDP, according to a note from Agência Brasil. In any case, with the market heating up again, there will undoubtedly be the movement of millions of dollars on the road network, ensuring the supply of goods throughout the territory, which also means an expansion in the number of jobs and, consequently, the reactivation of the domestic market, even though the forecast for foreign trade is not very encouraging. According to the Brazilian Foreign Trade Association (AEB), the trade surplus could reach $34.5 billion in 2022, a decrease of 39.7% compared to 2021. If the market does indeed heat up, there is no doubt that the transportation sector will benefit greatly. On the other hand, the possibility of collateral effects, namely an increase in truck and cargo theft on the highways, especially in the state of São Paulo, is not ruled out. According to data from the Public Security Secretariat, from January to August 2021, there were 4,131 crimes of this type, an increase of 4.7% compared to the same period in 2020. Out of the total cases, 46.2% occurred in the capital, 30.8% in the metropolitan region of Greater São Paulo, and 22.9% in the interior. Even with the increase in the state of São Paulo, crimes related to cargo theft in the country have been decreasing when compared to those recorded in 2017, a year considered the peak in this sector. In that year, there were 25,970 cargo thefts nationwide, representing about $1.5 billion in losses. The state of São Paulo was responsible for 10,584 of these crimes, or 40.75%, while Rio de Janeiro accounted for 10,599, representing 40.81% of the total. Since then, there has been a decrease in the numbers. According to the National Association of Freight and Logistics Transport (NTC), regions located near highways and within a 30-kilometer radius of São Paulo’s capital are the most susceptible to cargo theft. These are usually areas that concentrate logistics companies and distribution centers, which often transport high-value-added goods such as fuels, electronic equipment, and medicines, precisely the ones that attract criminal gangs the most. Furthermore, some gangs have specialized in stealing perishable products such as food, cigarettes, and beverages, which are quickly resold and consumed. This type of crime occurs precisely when the goods are being delivered to the buyer’s establishment. Trucks carrying products such as fuels, textiles, electronic equipment, agricultural pesticides, and pharmaceutical items are targeted by organized crime when they are traveling on highways. The criminals generally keep the driver in captivity until their objectives are completed. In the state of São Paulo, the municipalities of São Paulo, Guarulhos, and Jundiaí are the most targeted by criminals, but Cubatão, Cajamar, Itaquaquecetuba, Osasco, São Bernardo do Campo, and Embu das Artes also have high crime rates. The Public Security Secretariat has already announced that it will intensify the program for the prevention and reduction of cargo theft, which has been in place since 1997, increasing efforts to crack down on this type of crime. At the same time, transportation and logistics companies are increasingly installing security systems such as vehicle tracking and monitoring, which have been hindering the actions of criminals. However, for now, this is a battle that seems to have no end.

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Liana Lourenço Martinelli, lawyer, postgraduate in Business Management and International Trade, is the Institutional Relations Manager of the Fiorde Group, composed of Fiorde International Logistics, FTA Transport, and Warehouses, and Barter International Trade. Email: fiorde@fiorde.com.br. Website: fiorde.com.br

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