This fireside chat is from FreightWaves’ Small Fleet & Owner-Operator Summit on Wednesday.

FIRESIDE CHAT TOPIC: Prepare for the worst: Preventing cargo theft and increasing your chance of a successful cargo claim

DETAILS: Small fleets must be proactive and develop a risk management plan to prevent cargo theft, including mapping out safe truck parking and fueling routes, Adam Wingfield told Johnny McCord, CEO and founder of Loadsure, at FreightWaves’ Small Fleet & Owner-Operator Summit on Wednesday.

SPEAKER: Wingfield is the founder and managing director of Innovative Logistics Group. 

BIO: Wingfield’s trucking consulting and carrier services firm, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, focuses on providing resources and guidance to small carriers. A 20-year trucking industry veteran, he started in the industry as an over-the-road company driver and progressed to fleet ownership as well as executive mentorship. 

KEY QUOTES FROM WINGFIELD:

“Anytime you’ve got cargo at rest is cargo at risk.”

“I think the biggest thing is the awareness and situational awareness among small carriers to understand that cargo theft is a real issue, particularly around holidays. I think it’s an opportunity for a lot of folks to be caught without being aware of the fact that cargo theft is an issue, and it’s also opportunistic for the bad guys to be able to kind of look for those folks that are not really prepared for and don’t take the proper steps.”

“When you are picking up those high-value loads from a shipper, you want to make sure that the truck is full of fuel and the driver has enough hours that you are able to drive 200 to 250 miles without stopping. That way, if there is someone that’s following you with that high-value shipment waiting for you to make a mistake, you can outrun that situation.”