LoJack Releases 2015 Construction Equipment Theft Study

The first name in vehicle tracking, both for consumer and industrial markets, is the proprietary eponymous LoJack, now part of CalAmp.

LoJack has announced that law enforcement officials throughout the United States recovered more than $6.6 million in stolen construction equipment and machinery thanks to its system. Drawn from the data collected throughout the year, the company has produced its “2015 Construction Equipment Theft Recovery Report” and infographic, which highlights the ongoing problem of thieves targeting construction businesses for their high value equipment.

The report identifies equipment categories and classes, manufacturers, and geographies where theft is most likely to occur. The cost of equipment theft can be devastating to businesses. The report also revealed that the top equipment types recovered in 2015 were small items like generators, air compressors, cement mixers, and welders, loaders, excavators and utility vehicles.

The top five most stolen and recovered LoJack system-equipped equipment manufacturers were Bobcat, John Deere, Multiquip, Caterpillar, and CASE. Nearly two-thirds of the equipment stolen was more than five years old and 97 percent of the items were retrieved in the same state.

“Construction sites have been popping up all over the U.S. as part of the economic recovery, making the theft of construction equipment a very lucrative market for thieves. The increased exposure of equipment opens up vulnerability to theft,” said Courtney DeMilio, National VP, Commercial and Fleet, LoJack. “Because construction projects create jobs, the cost of unrecovered stolen equipment extends far beyond the equipment itself and potentially affects the lives of construction workers. LoJack is dedicated to partnering with law enforcement and the construction industry to recover stolen construction equipment in a timely manner to reduce operational downtime and minimize the impact of stolen equipment.”

For more details on these statistics and recovery stories, click here.