The Effects of Cargo Theft in a Down Global Economy

Jared Palmer, General Counsel, Advantage Freight Network, USA

As General Counsel and Director of Security for a United States based logistics company, I have had the unique experience of dealing first hand with the theft of our clients’ cargo. Through this experience my company and I have decided to become more active in the fight against cargo theft. We recently became active members of the National Cargo Theft Task Force, which was created and organized by law enforcement, insurance and logistics industry entities dedicated to the fight against this growing problem. The following paper will focus on who is involved in cargo theft, how it is occurring, what items are being targeted by the criminals, how cargo theft affects the economy, what the National Cargo Theft Task Force is doing to combat the problem and finally how insurance can be utilized to protect or make the victims of cargo theft whole.

Jared S. Palmer, Esq. received his B.S. in International Studies and Business Law from Indiana University in 1999 and his J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 2002 with a concentration in Intellectual Property. He has been the General Counsel for AFN® since 2004. Jared is an active member of the National Cargo Theft Task Force and serves on the government affairs subcommittee. He also serves on the executive committee for the Transportation & Logistics Council. He has published numerous articles in the TransDigest on contracting and the perils involved with shipping high value and high risk freight.

AFN® is a full service Third Party Logistics Provider, with both its managed transportation and brokerage divisions housed in its corporate headquarters in Niles, IL. Since being founded in 2003 by Mike Nervick and Ryan Daube, AFN® has experienced double digit growth year after year due to AFN®’s entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to its clients’ needs. AFN® has been recognized by Inbound Logistics Magazine as a Top 100 3PL Provider for the past three consecutive years and has received multiple service awards. With a concentration on continuous improvement, AFN® has a strong commitment to innovation and technology.