07/29/2010 - Truck holdups cause 40 billion EUR damages every year

Germans want manufacturers to pay for more security

Consumer electronics, luxury watches or brand-name garments are all in high demand. And not just for consumers who want to show off with such status symbols, but also for bandits. Brutal attacks, kidnappings and cargo theft are a daily danger for truck drivers. During the last five years, every sixth truck driver has already fallen victim to an attack. No wonder, either, when you consider that a truck with a cargo of mobile phones is transporting freight worth 20 million EUR. Each year, goods with a total value of over 8.2 billion EUR are stolen while in transit, and the trend is rising. In the meantime, road piracy is firmly in the hands of organized gangs of criminals. The impact on the economy is dramatic: as a rule, each euro worth of stolen goods creates five euros worth of follow-up costs.

In view of this, according to a recent survey conducted by Time Shuttle, an Aachen-based high-security logistics specialist, 78 percent of German citizens feel that manufacturers should be obliged to increase the security of high-value goods transports and of their drivers. 55 percent of the population would give clear preference to goods that had been transported at appropriate security standards. About two thirds of those interviewed want the lawmakers to introduce a quality seal for secure transportation. 59 percent are in favour of tax reductions as an attractive incentive for companies that guarantee maximum transport security.


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