For the sixth straight year, Schneider National is reporting declines in cargo theft rates. The company reported a 40 percent decline in full-truckload thefts and a 50 percent reduction in total value per load stolen in 2012.
According to FreightWatch’s International 2012 Annual Cargo Theft Report, the overall number of nationwide stolen freight incidents decreased by 0.5 percent. While industry-wide cargo theft rates have risen dramatically in recent years, until dropping slightly in 2012, Schneider has conversely experienced consistent reductions in cargo thefts. Schneider has realized a reduction from 25 thefts in 2006 to just eight last year. For a company that moves almost three million loads of freight each year, the results are impressive.
Director of Safety and Enterprise Security, Walter Fountain, CPP, CSP, CCSP, says Schneider’s formula for success is no secret. The company concentrates on making ongoing improvements to its technology and training programs while emphasizing situational awareness and a load-specific communication strategy across its fleet of 13,000 company drivers and independent contractors.
“I’ve always believed our proactive planning makes Schneider’s security program a success story year after year,” Fountain said. “It’s all about knowing the ins and outs of the freight we’re moving, keeping our customers updated, and arming our drivers with exceptional training and information.”
Fountain, who recently served as the chairman of the American Trucking Associations’ Supply Chain Security and Loss Prevention Council, adds that it’s crucial for the industry to work together to buck the climbing national trend. “Not only do we keep communication as clear and transparent as possible internally, but we also feel a sense of responsibility for helping guide the entire industry in a safer and more secure direction,” Fountain said. “We recently started work on designing a custom lock to keep loads even safer; we champion the idea of creating tailored security solutions that help keep customer freight safe and secure.”
In addition to emphasizing security-based training and situational awareness with its drivers, Schneider also works hand-in-hand with its customers to engineer security processes into loads before they’re on the road. Advance communication and use of team drivers on high-value loads, layers of security procedures, and both high- and low-tech security solutions are also critical in keeping freight safe.