Bi-Annual Cargo Theft Report: Value of Pharmaceutical Cargo Theft Has Skyrocketed in the First Half of 2009

FreightWatch International (USA), an international logistics security company, whose expertise is in identifying threats and vulnerabilities to high-value supply and distribution chains, publishes a Bi-Annual Cargo Theft Report that contains some very interesting statistics and observations.

The Bi-Annual Cargo Theft Report is available on-line and outlines statistics and vulnerabilities of various supply chains, specifically reporting on pharmaceutical cargo theft incidents.

As you read through the Cargo Theft Report it is striking how sophisticated and prevalent cargo theft has become. Additionally as it relates to the domestic pharmaceutical supply chain it is illuminating on how cargo theft can impact the amount of fraudulent, counterfeit and adulterated medications within our medication supply.

The following are some striking statistics from January to June 2009 as it relates to the pharmaceutical cargo theft incidents:

• The first six months of 2009 has seen a decrease in cargo theft incidents involving pharmaceuticals from 25 reported incidents in 2008 to 14 incidents in 2009. However, the total value of pharmaceutical products lost as a result of cargo theft has skyrocketed in the first half of 2009.


• From January to June 2009 over $73,000,000 in pharmaceutical products has been stolen. One loss was valued at $37 million, which was subsequently recovered, however, not after the chain of custody was broken for a short period of time.


• The average pharmaceutical loss for the first six months in 2009 is $6,712,500 per theft, a tremendous increase from 2008’s six month average of $704,685 per theft.

Both in 2008 and 2009, the vast majority of pharmaceutical thefts occurred on the East and South Eastern U.S., particularly along major interstate highways as well as in Florida.

The statistics and relevance of this Report supports XStream Systems’ assertion that it is important that pharmaceutical inventories be screened through a level of material verification that is available via our XT250 and its revolutionary EDXRD technology. This exciting technology allows the XT250 to authenticate pharmaceuticals inside their unit of sale containers without destroying or degrading the medication inside.

With so many millions lost each month in cargo theft and presumably re-introduced into the supply chain at various points, it is critical that the provider and consumer are assured that the medications they are taking are safe and effective.

To learn more about FreightWatch’s services or to view the entire Bi-Annual Cargo Theft Report January-June 2009, visit their website at www.freightwatchusa.com.