The Transported Asset Protection Assn. (TAPA) is rolling out global security standards for trucking and the first trucking security certification program for motor carriers and logistics service providers in the U.S. and abroad aimed to block high-value cargo theft.
Globally, 85% of all major cargo theft involves trucks, Alan Spear, chair of TAPA Americas said in a Journal of Commerce report. Theft costs businesses more than $10 billion a year worldwide, according to Bloomberg. Spear said in some countries, it’s increasingly violent and deadly to truck drivers.
TAPA’s security requirements are voluntary, though shippers of high-value goods may come to require certification from their trucking and logistics partners, according to the association. The association’s members include manufacturers, retailers and carriers.
TAPA’s trucking security requirements provide for three levels of compliance, depending on the value of the cargo — TSR 1, 2 and 3. “TSR 1 is the strongest level,” Spear said. “It would be used for the most valuable and vulnerable cargo.”
All three levels require two-way communications systems on board trucks. Only the highest level requires carriers to have detailed, documented trailer-tracking protocols and the ability to geofence routes and parking areas.
The program is aimed at transporters of high-value goods targeted by cargo thieves. Detailed information on the trucking security requirements is available at http://tapaonline.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=91&Itemid=118
TAPA developed its requirements and certification with help from trucking operators and logistics providers in the U.S., Spear said, including National Retail Systems, Hasbrouck Heights, NJ, and AFC Worldwide Express, Kennesaw, GA.
