Freight crime down but warehouse thefts up
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WilliamsTransport has invested in nine new OAF XF105s as it looks to support its move into Europe.
The Huntingdon-based haulier recently won contracts to move recycled materials between the UK and the Continent.The 460hp XFs will haul 13.5m open-top trailers with moving floors. Each vehicle will be fitted with a telematics and tracking system to improve productivity, fuel efficiency and driving standards, and the vehicles can spend up to seven days away from base. All nine trucks were supplied by local DAF dealer Marshalls of Cambridge and will be maintained at Williams in-house workshop. A 5% DROP IN FREIGHT crime during the first quarter of 2010 has been offset by a rise in warehouse crime.
Freight crime unit TruckPol says the number of truck crimes fell to 769 in Q1 2010, against 809 during the first three months in 2009 and 823 in 042009.
During the same period, the number of hijacks fell 67% from 15 in 01 2009 to just five this year. while the number of thefts from trucks dropped to 244 from 270 and 297 in 04 2009. Thefts of lorries also slipped 2.2% to 396.
However, there were six recorded warehouse crimes compared to five in 01 2009. TruckPol analyst Chris Meeks says:"When we say warehouse crimes, we mean thefts from a premises using a lorry to haul the stolen goods away. This suggests more freight criminals are working with trucks to conduct robberies."
TruckPol says that while this is not a huge jump, it suggests freight gangs are becoming more professional. Meanwhile, the body warns that a noticeable feature in the list of stolen HG Vs is the number of tipper lorries (57) that were stolen between January and March. "There has been a recent trend of such vehicles being stolen in the south west of England and Wales. These thefts often involve two or more vehicles being stolen at a time.warns.
The unit is working with 38 out of 43 police forces, and says it intends to improve communications to ensure more freight crimes are reported.