Guest blog: Fuel theft is a costly burden on business owners

Fuel theft is becoming increasingly common and transportation companies are having to guard their lorries more closely and carefully than ever before. However, this is often not enough, and fuel can be stolen from an area with camera surveillance or from a lorry parked in the yard. Drivers operating abroad also face the risk of physical harm. For example, cabin gassing or assault, and possibly even robbery or murder, are no longer a new trend among fuel thieves.

Last year, Rausteel conducted a survey on fuel theft. A total of 129 owners of freight businesses from all over Finland responded to the survey. The survey contained 17 questions, and each question was answered by at least half of the respondents. The responses revealed that well over half of the respondents had fuel stolen at some point. The majority had had fuel stolen 2-4 times in the last three years. This results in fairly large financial losses for the owner, especially when the amounts involved range from under 500 litres to over 5,000 litres of stolen fuel. The majority of respondents believed that fuel theft has increased over the past year.

According to fuel theft statistics I received from the National Police Board’s statistics service, a total of 5,624 fuel thefts were reported to the police last year. However, the statistics do not specify how much of the fuel theft involved transport companies, for example, but rather apply to all fuel thefts. Nevertheless, I take the liberty of concluding that a large part of that amount is specifically related to fuel theft from lorries, because the problem is rapidly becoming more common in Finland.

In our survey, we asked transportation companies whether they think fuel theft has increased over the past year. 69 respondents answered this question, the majority of whom believed that fuel theft has increased. The majority of the transportation entrepreneurs I spoke with personally at the Power Truck Show recently also had the same opinion. Based on our discussions, it sounded like many drivers no longer report fuel theft to the police because fuel theft is so common that owners find reporting it almost pointless. That sounds discouraging, but unfortunately, it’s the reality for many people right now.

In this situation, focusing on prevention would be important and cost-effective. If you could save money on maintenance, new tanks and tank repairs, and prevent the theft of your own transport equipment, and gain peace of mind, wouldn’t you be saving big in physical and mental capital? And wouldn’t an operator who is happy and healthy and has avoided unnecessary expenses then be a key factor in the company’s success?

Yes, think about it.😉

Best regards,
Anita
Rausteel Oy

anita.kanerva@rausteel.com
+358 40 1604180