Keeping Cargo Theft at Bay: ABI Research Estimates Goods Tracking Market to Swell to $5.6 Billion in 2021

Goods tracking technologies are on the rise, as companies find them to be increasingly essential in effectively tracking and monitoring transported goods to cut down on cargo theft. ABI Research estimates that the market, which was worth $3.6 billion in 2016, will swell to $5.6 billion by 2021.

Sophisticated goods tracking technologies mitigate cargo theft and play a key role in the recovery of stolen assets by detecting the location of stolen premium goods (e.g., pharmaceuticals, electronics, jewelry, tobacco and alcohol, cash, and retail products). The solutions also provide additional security by enabling companies to track and recover stolen shipments, even when those shipments are reloaded into a new container or trailer, which is not being tracked.

“These solutions are covertly placed into product packaging so that they can continue to ping its location in real-time, enabling companies to track and recover stolen shipment and apprehend criminals,” says Raquel Artes, Industry Analyst at ABI Research. “This is particularly suitable given the market’s complex ecosystem wherein products are handled and transferred among a handful of different players and the risk of theft is high.”

The compact, portable, and rechargeable goods tracking devices utilize satellite and/or cellular networks to obtain a shipment’s location. As the devices are relatively small, they can be covertly hidden inside the product, packaging, box, or pallet and then monitored via Internet, making them difficult for cargo thieves to detect. Companies mentioned in this space include goods tracking service providers (FreightWatch International, 3SI Security Systems, Ctrack, Telenav, Starcom Systems, Sendum Wireless, Rockwell GPS Tracking Tracker), chipset vendors (Qualcomm, MediaTek), module vendors (Telit, u-blox), third-party logistics providers (FedEx, DB Schenker), and telecom operators (AT&T).

But thieves are adapting as new technologies emerge. Many are revolutionizing their stealing techniques by committing cybercrime, GPS and cellular jamming, GNSS spoofing, and deceptive pickups. The new threats are reshaping tracking requirements. For instance, if a thief attempts GPS jamming, the goods tracking device will send real-time alert of possible theft via cellular technology, enabling companies to act immediately. GNSS and cellular technologies are standard features of goods tracking devices.

New cellular network technologies will also reduce connectivity costs to drive further adoption. Goods tracking solutions will migrate either to EC-GSM, an extended coverage version of 2G, or leverage the more network efficient LPWA LTE technologies in LTE Category 1, LTE Category M1, and LTE Category M2.

These findings are from ABI Research’s Goods Asset Tracking Technologies. This report is part of the company’s Autonomous Vehicles, Automotive and Transportation sector, which includes research reports, market data, insights, and competitive assessments.

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