JERSEY CITY, NJ and AUSTIN, TX — New Jersey-based theft-prevention and recovery service CargoNet has warned truckers that the long weekend, which essentially started with Canada Day and includes the American July 4th holiday, is a particularly busy time for thieves so the organization is recommending you stay on the qui vive for truck thefts.

CargoNet reports  increases in U.S. theft incidents reported to its command center over the last three years during the Independence Day holiday.

It said such thefts also increase before and after the holiday, July 1-7, with heists valued from a few hundreds of thousands of dollars to as high as US$3.5 million.

Holiday weekends are notorious for showing increased cargo theft risks for transportation companies, shippers, and manufacturers, according to the Texas-based logistics security services provider FreightWatch International.

“Organized theft rings are active and understand holiday weekends cause shipments to be unattended for extended periods of time. Thefts occurring over Independence Day weekends between 2010 and 2014 had an average value of US$145,267, including eight separate incidents with a declared value over US$250,000,” FreightWatch said in a bulletin.

 It recommends logistics and security professionals ensure security protocols are up to date and in line with industry best practices for in-transit and warehouse operations, noting both of these will be heavily targeted over the weekend via traditional and non-traditional cargo theft methods.

More details about holiday cargo thefts are available in this infographic from CargoNet.