Equipment Theft Holds Steady

The only bright spot to having something stolen is the act of seeing it returned. The recovery specialists at LoJack understand that feeling of justice. LoJack has focused on finding hijacked equipment and vehicles for more than 20 years. Today they’re the premier provider of wireless tracking and recovery systems for mobile assets, boasting a 90 percent satisfaction percentage when it comes to returning stolen property — a cause of misery for thieves everywhere.

The company recently compiled its eighth annual Construction Equipment Theft Study — a report that provides valuable information on the ongoing issue of equipment theft — a problem that costs construction companies up to $1 billion per year in lost assets.

“In today’s down economy, construction equipment owners need to take extra precautions to protect their valuable equipment from opportunistic professional thieves who see this as a high reward, low risk form of theft,” said Ronald V. Waters, LoJack’s president and CEO. “Unfortunately, the real cost of stolen equipment is far more than the value of the item stolen, since business owners typically pay the hefty price tag of business downtime, increases in insurance premiums and contract penalties. Stolen vehicle recovery systems, such as the one offered by LoJack, provide business owners with the protection they need to safeguard their equipment and their business from financial losses due to theft.”

According to the study, which analyzed LoJack stolen vehicle recovery reports for the calendar year 2008, construction theft continued at a steady pace with loaders being the No. 1 theft target (the majority of compact machines CE covers). For the calendar year 2008, LoJack recovered more than $15.5 million in stolen construction equipment. Since entering the construction market in 2000, the company has recovered more than $100 million in LoJack-equipped stolen construction assets, plus the value of other stolen non-LoJack equipped construction equipment police recovered in chop shops and theft rings.

Professional Theft Rings Continue to Fuel Crime

Poor onsite security, easy access to open cabs, one key fits all and lack of product identification numbers and records are all issues that make construction equipment easy targets for professional thieves. In fact, according to a 2008 Cygnus Business Media Research Study commissioned by LoJack and the National Insurance Crime Bureau, a full 71 percent of equipment owners have experienced equipment theft.

This year’s study once again showed the ongoing role organized crime plays in the problem of construction equipment theft, with law enforcement discovering nine theft rings and chop shops through tracking and recovering stolen equipment with the LoJack System. Through these discoveries, police recovered more than $2 million in additional stolen assets that were not LoJack-equipped.

In one theft ring bust, the LoJack System helped the Miami-area police find a major construction theft ring and recover more than 30 pieces of construction equipment and commercial vehicles, including welders, compressors, generators, weed whackers and hedge trimmers valued at approximately $1.5 million.

Popular Equipment Make Popular Theft Targets

The study also revealed that newer equipment on the jobsite is the most common theft target because of higher resale value. The types of equipment most frequently stolen are (in order):

1. Backhoe loaders, skip loaders, wheel loaders and track loaders
2. Light utility and work trucks and trailers
3. Generators, air compressors and welders
4. Skid steers
5. Forklifts and scissor lifts

These equipment types represented more than 75 percent of all construction equipment recoveries documented by LoJack in 2008. A full 66 percent of the equipment stolen and recovered was five years old or less and a full 72 percent was recovered in 24 hours or less after being reported to the police.

States with the Highest Theft Rates

Based on LoJack’s recovery data, the following are the top states with the highest occurrence of equipment theft:

2008 Ranking	vs.	2007 Ranking
1. California		1
2. Florida		2
3. Texas		3
4. Nevada		5
5. Arizona		4
6. Georgia		5
7. New Jersey		6
8. New York		8
9. Illinois		9
10. Maryland		6

LoJack’s Guide to Theft Protection

Keep Good Records

1. Label all equipment with unique identifying numbers, including product identification numbers (PIN) and the owner applied number (OAN).

2. Consider marking above numbers in multiple locations on equipment.

3. Keep accurate inventory records.

4. Record manufacturer, model number, year, PIN and purchase date for each piece of equipment.

5. Record serial numbers of each major component parts.

6. Consider registering your equipment with a national database.

Focus on Physical Site Security

1. When possible, fence in your equipment.

2. Park equipment close together and in a circle if feasible, with smaller pieces in the center.

3. Chain small equipment to larger equipment.

4. Install onsite security cameras and motion sensors on the jobsite.

5. Communicate with law enforcement. Request more frequent patrols, especially in known high-theft areas.

6. Use immobilization devices such as wheel locks, fuel shut-offs or ignition locks.

7. Consider installing battery-disconnect switches.

8. Use a proven tracking and recovery system that offers time-tested tracking technology and is integrated with the police so that recovery is in the hands of the law.