Texas Tops for Heavy Equipment Thefts in 2014: Report

A report released by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) shows that thefts of heavy equipment increased nationally in 2014 by 1.2 percent over the previous year, and that Texas had the highest number of such thefts.

The NICB report, co-produced with the National Equipment Register (NER), examined heavy equipment theft data for 2014 submitted by law enforcement to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). The report analyzes that data according to theft state, theft city, theft month, equipment manufacturer, equipment style (type) and year of manufacture.

It also examined heavy equipment recoveries in 2014 based on the same criteria.

In 2014, a total of 11,625 heavy equipment thefts were reported to law enforcement nationally — up from the 11,486 such thefts reported in 2013.

Texas ranked number one in 2014 with 1,650 reported thefts.

In second place was North Carolina with 918 thefts followed by Florida in third with 915 thefts.

In fourth place was South Carolina with 660 thefts and Georgia was fifth with 647.

The top five cities with the most heavy equipment thefts in 2014 were: Houston (201); Miami, Fla. (105); San Antonio, Texas (83); Oklahoma City, (83); and Las Vegas, Nev. (73).

The three most commonly stolen heavy equipment items in 2014 were:

• Mowers (riding or garden tractor: 5,051)
• Loaders (skid steer, wheeled: 1,907)
• Tractors (wheeled or tracked: 1,475)

Heavy equipment manufactured by John Deere was the number one theft target in 2014. Coming in second in terms of targeted equipment was Kubota Tractor Corp., followed by Bobcat, Caterpillar and Toro.

As for recoveries, only 23 percent of heavy equipment stolen in 2014 was found nationally, making it a costly crime for insurance companies, equipment owners and rental agencies, the NICB said.

Headquartered in Des Plaines, Ill., the NICB is a not-for-profit insurance fraud detection and prevention organization that is supported by more than 1,100 property and casualty insurance companies and self-insured organizations.