Borderlands is a weekly rundown of developments in the world of United States-Mexico cross-border trucking and trade. This week: Truck cargo theft up as thieves grow more violent, savvy; Chinese manufacturer to build $100M factory near Houston, create 100 jobs; 236,000-square-foot transload facility planned for Laredo, Texas; and Continental begins construction of $90M plant in Mexico.
Truck cargo theft up as thieves grow more violent, savvy
Cargo theft continued to plague the trucking industry across North America during the first half of the year.
Supply chain visibility firm Overhaul reported that cargo theft incidents increased 49% year over year to 787 incidents in the United States from January through June.
The average loss value across all incidents was $115,230, 83% higher than the average recorded during the same period in 2023.
Danny Ramon, Overhaul’s director of intelligence and law enforcement connect, said some of the reasons for the significant increase in average loss value are that the trucking industry is attracting more thieves, and they are getting better at targeting specific loads.
“The pandemic wasn’t necessarily the cause, but it was kind of the catalyst for this change in cargo theft in the United States and across the globe,” Ramon told FreightWaves in an interview. “A lot of people got new careers during and after the pandemic. It turns out a lot of them switched to cargo theft. They saw how lucrative it is, how easy it can be, and that’s why we’re seeing that increase. The cargo they are targeting and obtaining is going to increase in value as they get better and better at targeting exactly what they’re after.”
Cargo theft in Mexico also continues to challenge supply chains. During the first half of 2024, Mexico reported 5,140 cargo thefts, averaging about 57 a day.
The main tactic used by criminals in Mexico is the interception of cargo trucks while they are in transit, accounting for 72% of the cases during the first half of 2024. About 84% of cargo thefts in Mexico also involved some form of violence.
Ramon said one reason Mexico sees more violence in cargo theft is that policing and penalties for violent crime might not be as strict as in the U.S. or Canada.
“With Mexico, it’s an apprehension and penalty issue,” Ramon said. “The penalty is not necessarily increased as much in Mexico as it is here in the United States. In Mexico, it is the standard operating procedure of organized cargo thieves to employ violence. Here in the U.S., if violence is employed, it is very likely not an organized cargo thief. It is very likely a local area criminal who’s probably already involved in violent crime, and they’re just taking up the mugging of a driver to the next level.”
While cargo theft in Canada hasn’t experienced dramatic trends like thefts in the U.S. and Mexico, 93% of Canada’s cargo thefts occurred in the province of Ontario. Cargo thefts were especially heavy in the greater Toronto area, which remains the riskiest area for cargo movements in Canada.
Different provinces, like Alberta and Saskatchewan, also registered cargo thefts in the first half of 2024, after reporting no cases in 2023.
In the U.S., California accounted for 45% of all reported cargo thefts, followed by Texas at 14%. An area including Los Angeles and California’s Inland Empire accounted for 36% of all cargo thefts in the U.S. in the first half of 2024, averaging 58.6 per month, nearly two each day.
Ramon said Southern California will always be a hot spot for cargo theft.
“A big part of it is the volume: California has a lot of intermodal density, where a lot of stuff is coming off of ships, going on the rail, or rail on the road,” Ramon said.
In the U.S., the most sought-after goods for thieves were electronics (23%), followed by home
and garden products (14%), clothing and shoes (11%), and food and drinks (10%).
Food and beverage products were the most sought cargo by thieves in Mexico, accounting for 31% of cases, followed by building and industrial (17%). Other commodities targeted by thieves included auto parts (9%), clothes and shoes (5%), fuels (5%), and pharmaceuticals (3%).
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Chinese manufacturer to build $100M factory near Houston, create 100 jobs
Oriental Yuhong Waterproof Technology Co. plans to build a major manufacturing plant and research and development center in Prairie View, Texas, according to a news release.
The Beijing-based company will produce waterproof roofing, thermal insulation, mortar powder and pipelines for the construction industry. The plant and research and development facility could cost from $100 million to $500 million, according to news reports.
Oriental Yuhong Waterproof Technology Co. did not respond to a request for comment.
The first phase of construction is scheduled to be completed in 2025 and will create about 100 jobs.
The factory and research center will be Oriental Yuhong’s first facilities outside China. Prairie View is about 47 miles northwest of Houston.
“We believe we can compete in the United States and North America,” Lei Liu, CEO of Oriental Yuhong Waterproof Technology Co., told Fox 26 Houston. “To do that, we basically want to come here and manufacture here.”
Oriental Yuhong, founded in 1995, is one of the largest waterproofing materials producers in China, according to its website. The company has 52 production and logistics bases and more than 100 subsidiaries. Oriental Yuhong’s products are exported to more than 100 countries.
236,000-square-foot transload facility planned for Laredo, Texas
Investment firm Realterm has partnered with developer Alliance Industrial to acquire a 19.76-acre parcel in Laredo, Texas, according to a news release.
The joint venture plans to construct a 236,693-square-foot transload facility focused on cross-border operations on the site. The facility will feature a 32-foot clearance height, 50 dock doors and 190 trailer parking spaces.
“The strategic location of Laredo continues to drive significant economic growth, largely due to the nearshoring of manufacturing operations to northern Mexico and Monterrey, Mexico,” Ed Brickley, Realterm’s managing director and fund manager, said in a statement.
Realterm and Alliance Industrial did not disclose how much they are investing in the project.
Realterm is an independent global investment manager focused on the transportation industry. Houston-based Alliance Industrial is a privately owned industrial real estate investment, development and construction company.
Continental begins construction of $90M plant in Mexico
German tire and industrial parts manufacturing giant Continental AG has begun construction of a factory in Aguascalientes, Mexico, that will produce hydraulic hoses.
The 914,932-square-foot factory will be the company’s largest plant in Mexico once completed, according to a news release. Continental announced the factory in January. Aguascalientes is about 300 miles northwest of Mexico City.
The $90 million facility will generate up to 500 jobs in two phases. Continental officials also said the factory will help the company expand its hydraulics business into industries such as agriculture, mining, construction, manufacturing and energy.
Construction of the facility is scheduled to be finished by the end of 2025.
