OAKVILLE, Ont. –The Private Motor Truck Council of Canada (PMTC) has compiled a security checklist for fleets, designed to help protect against cargo theft.

The checklist, which was compiled with help from the RCMP and insurance industry, is available online free-of-charge at www.pmtc.ca.

The PMTC says the checklist can be used by fleets who wish to establish a security protocol or review their existing security practices. Fleets can also provide feedback to the PMTC, which will be used to help improve the checklist.

Cargo theft is an increasingly costly problem for the trucking industry. The Canadian insurance industry estimates thieves steal up to $9 billion in cargo each year in Canada -an amount that exceeds the entire 12-month retail sales volume of Newfoundland/ Labrador, PEI, Yukon and the Northwest Territories combined, the PMTC reports. It’s been said that for every case of cargo theft that’s reported, four more instances go unreported. The checklist can be downloaded at www.pmtc.ca.