Rail container theft compounds supply chain woes

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  • Cargo theft is just the latest in a long list of problems that are affecting shipping, keeping supplies low and prices high
  • Railroad officials said about 90 containers a day are hit, goods stolen ranging from washers and dryers to tires, perfumes, and television sets
  • Union Pacific claimed there has been a 160% increase since December 2020 in thefts along the railroad tracks in L.A. County
  • The growing cargo theft is compounding the problems caused by the traffic jams in the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, the US’s busiest container shipping gateways

Add large-scale theft from containers moved by rail into and out of the port of Los Angeles to the mounting woes besetting supply chains.

Transport Intelligence (Ti) has reported on a video from the Lincoln Heights area of Los Angeles released recently that shows train-loads of containers passing through what looks like an underpass littered with discarded boxes and packaging from previous container wagons that had been broken into and their contents stolen.

The reporter from the CBS News video report said: “Cargo theft is just the latest in a long list of problems that are affecting shipping and causing shortages that consumers have been dealing with for a long time and that are also keeping supplies low and of course prices high.”

Railroad officials said about 90 containers a day are hit, and the range of goods being stolen is wide, from washers and dryers to tires, perfumes, and television sets.

Although only publicized outside California in the past week, wide-scale thefts from containers have been a problem in Los Angeles for over a year.

The Los Angeles Times said Union Pacific reported what it claimed was a 160% increase since December 2020 in thefts along the railroad tracks in L.A. County. The railroad didn’t release specific data on what was stolen or the value of what was lost but it said the increase in crime cost the company at least $5 million last year.

A bottleneck in the supply chain and the presence of homeless encampments near rail lines have contributed to the thefts, officials said.

Bloomberg reported that Union Pacific is considering changes to rail operations including avoiding Los Angeles County as a rise of cargo theft in the area hurts business.

Union Pacific operates North America’s freight-hauling railroad franchise, covering 23 states in the western two-thirds of the United States.

Ti said there seem to be several underlying problems contributing to the issue.

One is the congestion on the rail network. It seems that container trains moving into and out of the port are either travelling so slowly or are stationary for long periods of time, enabling thieves to enter the containers.

Another problem is that America’s large population of homeless people is attracted to residing on property belonging to the railroad or adjacent to it. These homeless people are tempted by the opportunity to steal from the containers.

There are also issues that might be described as California specific, Ti said. Union Pacific wrote a letter to the Los Angeles County District Attorney in early December decrying that “the no-cash bail policy and extended timeframe for suspects to appear in court is causing re-victimization to Union Pacific by these same criminals.”

The growing cargo theft problem in Los Angeles is aggravating the supply chain disruptions caused by the traffic jams in the Los Angeles and Long Beach port areas, the country’s busiest container shipping gateways, which are fueling supply shortages and keeping some grocery shelves empty, CBS News said.

Image captured from cbsnews.com video report