Knowledgeable, experienced and well-trained truck drivers are the best Cargo security.

Anyways, they do have the need for Trailer Door Locks, because cargo theft is on the rise.

Moreover, trucking companies should implement high theft preventative measures, because these days trailers and cargos have become easy targets.

To put it another way, cargo theft can happen in two ways. The first type of cargo theft includes stealing of the entire trailer and its cargo, whereas the second type of cargo theft includes breaking into the trailer and stealing only the cargo.

Hence, trucking companies have a huge role and responsibility when it comes to cargo security.

Actually, trucking companies are the ones that have the ultimate responsibility to the receiver and the shipper.

Speaking of that, trucking companies should educate their truck drivers and provide them anti-theft strategy training.

Tip: Transporting cargo in the safest and secure way, should be a top priority for all truck driver.

So, let’s find out more about cargo security and the best trailer door locks!

Trailer Door Locks

Trailer doors are generally constructed of soft metal or aluminum. Which makes them easy to break into, and by so a great opportunity for cargo thieves.

Yet, trucking companies are well aware of the fact that sometimes truck drivers, even the most experienced ones are not enough when it comes to fighting cargo thieves. That is why more and more trucking companies are looking forward to finding the best trailer door locks on the market.

The trucking industry has seen the great importance of trailer door locks.

Nevertheless, trailer door locks vary in size and functionality. Speaking of that, let’s see what type of trailer door locks trucking companies can take the advantage of.

Type of Trailer Door Locks

Locking the trailer goes beyond the simple locking of the trailer doors. That is why trucking companies should take into consideration a trailer door lock that will be adequate for their trailers.

These days there is a variety of trailer door locks options available for the trucking industry. In general, most trailer door locks used in the trucking industry are the padlocks.

Padlocks can be found in many different profiles.

Actually, padlocks are detachable locks that are hanging by a pivoted hook on the trailer door. Padlocks have different features.

In general, padlocks are composed of a locking mechanism, a body, and shackle.

Thereupon, padlocks can be divided into two categories, padlocks with integrated locking mechanism and a padlock with a modular mechanism.

The lock body is a thick part that is composed of internal components and a lock core. Whereas the shackle is a piece of metal.

The shackle remains immobilized when the padlock is locked. Last, the locking mechanism can be seen as a device that keeps the shackle stationary when the padlock is locked.

General Features of Trailer Door Locks

Powerful and durable trailer door locks should have the following key features:

1. Provides help to keep intruders out and your belongings safe from theft;
2. Trailer’s door larch cannot be moved while the doors are locked;
3. Eliminates access to latch-keeper bolt heads and padlock hole;
4. Push button that keeps the lock secured unit to door handle;

Since there is a variety of trailer door locks and trailer door locks manufacturers, I cannot define the very best one due to one crucial reason- trucking companies have the need of different levels of security.

Thereupon, trucking company owners are the ones that can define the type of trailer door locks that they need.

Trucking companies are making their final decision based on their budget, the type of loads that they are hauling as well as the truck stops that they are going to keep their trailers parked on.

So, here are the top 3 ranked trailer door locks for this year:

• Mul-T-lock MT5+TR 100 Hockey Puck;
• Abloy PL 342T ;
• Stanley Hardened Steel Padlock;

How Truck Drivers Can Recognize When the Risk of Cargo Theft is Highest

Cargo theft is truck drivers’ worst nightmare.

Luckily, trucking companies have provided additional anti-theft strategy training for their truck drivers, which brought a positive impact.

Thereupon, with the best prevention techniques and the best security tools, such as are trailer door locks, truck drivers can avoid thieves.

So, here are few tips that truck drivers can use in order to recognize when the risk of cargo theft is the highest:

1. Thieves do attack during the weekends, actually, it is the most common time for cargo thefts;
2. Truckers should never leave the trailer parked for 24hours or longer because thieves know how to identify the targets- and by leaving the trailer parked for so long truckers will just give them the needed time to break in the trailer door locks;
3. As well, truck drivers should be alerted to their surroundings- carrier terminals and rest stops with poor lighting are the perfect chance for thieves to attack your trailer;

In addition, you can see how truck drivers can take a proactive action in protecting the cargo.

First and foremost, truck drivers should fuel up their truck before they head up to pick up the loads. Also, they should try to back up against a wall when they make a stop. That way they will prevent access to trailer door and trailer door locks.

Later on, truck drivers can take the advantage of the latest GPS tracking and geo-fencing technology.

Last, but not least, truck drivers should try to deliver the cargo on time, and before the weekend. The faster the truck driver delivers the cargo, the better.

What Is The Goal Of The Cargo Theft Criminals

Cargo theft has been around the trucking industry for centuries. Generally, the goal of cargo theft criminals is to make a fast buck without getting caught.

On the negative side cargo theft, criminals have evolved along with the development of cargo transportation methods.

Cargo theft criminals these days are becoming more of an international problem. They are affecting trucking business as well as their customers.

So, the goal of the cargo theft criminals is to steal the most quality loads, so that they can get more money out of it. Cargo theft criminals are stealing at any point in between of pickups and deliveries.

Moreover, cargo theft criminals are compromising the product integrity and availability.

Yet, cargo theft criminals from the U.S. are most commonly being recruited from the United States and are been trained by Cuban crime syndicates. After they complete the training process they are brought back to the U.S. to establish their operations.

Hence, cargo theft criminals are targeting loads that they can easily broker through people who are buying stolen property. Later on, they are reselling the loads.

But, how are cargo theft criminals getting to the loads?

Well, time after time, cargo theft criminals are gathering information on industrial parks as well as distribution facilities. In general, they set up surveillance outside the facilities and are constantly monitoring the happenings.

Modern cargo theft criminals these days, not only that they are stealing loads, but they are in fact stealing trailers. They hook up the trailers and move to a secured location.

As you can see, it is a must for trucking companies to take a number of actions in order to improve their facilities and vehicle security.

The Most Commonly Stolen Loads Due Cargo Theft

As I mentioned before, cargo theft criminals are most commonly targeting loads that are easy to a broker to people who are buying stolen items.

That is to say, cargo thieves are gathering all possible information on industrial parks or distribution facilities where customers and trucking companies are storing the cargo that should be included in a transportation process.

The cargo stealing process includes:

• Changing packaging;
• Re-labeling boxes;
• Creating paperwork to facilitate the cargo’s movement out of the country;

Nevertheless, cargo theft criminals are always focused on easy targets that won’t bring them hard consequences.

So, following this fact, we can see that some of the most highly targeted shipments are the consumer electronics, apparel, food, as well as pharmaceuticals.

Thereupon, when trucking companies are losing perishable items such as medicine and food, there is no point for them to recover the cargo.

Trucking companies that have been victims of cargo theft criminals stealing them perishable items are most commonly paying for themselves.

Additional Tips To Protect Your Cargo

Train Truck Drivers on Cargo Theft Policies

As it is familiar so far, trucking companies should take protective strategies in order to achieve maximum security. So speaking about that, many trucking companies decide to implement cargo theft protection policies.

Moreover, the very first point that cargo theft protection policies include is the prohibition of pre-loading their cargo as a time-saving measure.

It is so, mainly because when truck drivers are performing pre-loading they are putting themselves as well as the cargo at risk of cargo theft.

Thereupon, truck drivers should understand that trucking companies are setting specific time limits pertaining how long the cargo can be left unattended.

The shorter amount of time the cargo stays unattended the better.

Avoid Pre Loading

If you are already part of the trucking industry, you should know that pre-loading cargo is prohibited because it can put the cargo at risk.

So, truck drivers should take into practice picking up loads and starting the transportation process right away.

Thereupon, trucking companies should train their truck drivers to avoid preloading and to keep the cargo spend very minimal time in an unattended lot.

Verify The Driver and Truck at Pick-Up

Since cargo thieves are becoming more sophisticated it is not strange to see how they are making scams.

For example, it has happened to few trucking companies to experience a cargo thief impersonate a trucking company personnel when picking up a load of cargo.

Therefore, customers should be alerted to this fact too.

Customers should always verify the name of the driver picking up the cargo with the trucking company.

Evaluate The Theft Potential

The best way that trucking companies can evaluate the theft prevention is through following these points:

• Develop routes in which truck drivers will avoid high-crime areas;
• Understand how the cargo will travel;
• Consider the timing of shipments when transporting loads in higher-crime areas;
• Enforce a high standard within the load transportation operations;
• Consider equipping high-value loads with tracking equipment;

Top 10 U.S. Cargo Theft Counties

Cargo theft has become a growing concern for trucking companies.

Thereupon, trucking companies should be specially alerted when transporting loads in the following top 10 U.S. cargo theft counties:

• Los Angeles County, CA;
• Dallas County, TX;
• San Bernardino County, CA;
• Miami-Dade County, FL;
• Harris County, TXl
• Tarrant County, TX;
• Middlesex County, NJ;
• Will County, Il;
• Riverside County, CA;

On the other hand, if we take a look at cargo theft by location, then we would end up with the following result:

1. Warehouse: 329 thefts;
2. Other: 295;
3. Parking Lot: 170;
4. Secured Lot: 166;
5. Unsecured yard: 120;

Mitigating Cargo Theft Risks

Trucking companies through mitigating cargo theft risks can pro-actively help themselves to improve the security.

Hence, here is how trucking companies can mitigate cargo theft risks:

• By deploying covert tracking devices;
• Trucking companies can ask local police agencies to make routine checks of facilities during holiday downtime;
• Should avoid having loaded trailers sit unattended when truck drivers are not present;
• To secure the trucks and trailers with high-security locking devices;
• To remove the keys from all facility equipment;
• To document and report all suspicious activity that is going on around your trucking company, or around your vehicles;

Conclusion

To enumerate, cargo theft can happen anywhere and at any time. Yet, it is more likely to happen during the weekends and holidays. That is why trucking companies should take proactive steps towards increasing cargo security.

Although, trailer door locks or better known as padlocks are considered to be low-tech locking devices, do play a crucial role in cargo theft prevention.

Cargo theft is an international problem that is affecting trucking companies and businesses alike, so make a smart choice and get the best trailer door lock for your fleet.