Protecting Cargo in the Wild, Wild West

There have been train robberies as long as there have been trains.

The idea of a train robbery evokes images of the 19th-century American West, with bandits on horseback running alongside the tracks or famous outlaws like Butch Cassidy and Jesse James trying to outrun the law.

Train robbery is still a common form of crime today. It just looks a little different.

To learn more about the business impact of the cargo theft that has plagued Union Pacific for the last few years, read The Great Supply Train Robbery on Art of Procurement.

Speeding Trains - or Sitting Ducks?

Delays in the process of loading and unloading trains at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles make cargo trains sitting ducks for theft.

Modern-day highwaymen have found multiple ways to stop trains long enough to search cars and steal goods. Each time a train stops so the crew can walk along and inspect, it creates yet another opportunity to loot.

According to the CDC, it takes about 24 minutes for an adult to walk one mile comfortably, and that is just walking. Now imagine crew members pausing to check cars, equipment, or container locks. They might also walk more than one side of the train. It could easily take one person an hour to inspect a mile of train.

With cargo trains often being 2-3 miles long, thieves might have hours to target and empty select cars. As Keith Lewis, Vice President of Operations for CargoNet, told the LA Times, “A train at rest is a train at risk.”?

Sometimes, the labels or signs that must be displayed on a car for the sake of safety make that cargo a target. Think about the example of a label you might see on an Amazon delivery to your home: When an Amazon box comes to my house with a lithium battery warning sticker on it, we know the package is for my husband. Container codes and warning signs work the same way. A lithium battery warning might mean consumer electronics that are easy to steal and fence.

Even extra secure locks provide a temptation for thieves. Specialized lock services are not seen as a broad solution because they tacitly suggest to thieves that the contents of a specific container are worth the extra effort to breach the lock.

The (Not Long Enough) Arm of the Law

Union Pacific has a private security force with a history dating back to the Pinkertons themselves. In the 1800s, there weren’t enough U.S. Marshals to patrol the country’s growing rail network, so rail companies invested in their own.

Today, the Union Pacific Police Department is responsible for 32,000 miles of track owned by the company, but there are questions about whether that security force is large enough.

According to an article on LA Taco, “In September of 2020, due to pandemic-related budget cuts, Union Pacific laid off an unspecified number of employees across the railroad system. Including members of its railroad-only police force.”

The number of patrol officers is dwindling as cargo volume and incidents of theft skyrocket, but other security measures are in place as well.

As reported by Supply Chain Dive, Union Pacific is putting up physical barriers around the tracks to keep thieves away (or slow them down). They are also using drones to monitor for thieves.

Union Pacific is making some moderate changes in the strength of container security. “Union Pacific, the freight rail company that runs trains along that track, has identified a solution: Slightly better locks,” the article says. These new locks must be one-eighth of an inch thick and must be made of metal.

Acute Losses and Damages

The Department of Homeland Security estimates that reported cargo thefts account for between $15 billion and $35 billion annually. To address this problem, they have launched an effort called ‘Operation Boiling Point’.

Even so, not all threats or risks can be represented in dollar values.

Dozens of guns are included in the lists of goods stolen from containers. 40 handguns and rifles were taken from a train on its way to Tennessee, and their absence wasn’t discovered until the train reached its destination. Other reports, including one from February 2, 2022, tell us that of the 80 firearms stolen by organized criminal gangs covered by their research, at least one has been connected to an ongoing murder investigation.

Sometimes, the “theft” isn’t theft at all, but property destruction. Thieves break the seals on temperature-controlled containers. When they don’t want what they discover, they leave the product behind in search of cargo that is more valuable from a resale perspective. This happened to Johnsonville. Even though the meat wasn’t stolen, it was ruined.

Johnsonville is now using temperature trackers to monitor their cargo, not because they prevent theft or stop destruction but to help them tell the story afterward—to the insurance company. At least that is some form of progress. There wasn’t much protection in the form of insurance in the wild, wild west. Today, insurance companies are being left holding the bag.

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