New York - January 30^th 2004, Today, the National Equipment Register (NER) released its first annual report studying the problem of heavy equipment theft in the US.  Based on NER’s database of over 30,000 theft reports and statistics from the Insurance Services Office (ISO), the report is a detailed study and analysis of construction and farm equipment losses and recoveries.  The report seeks to answer the question: “Who steals how much of what, from where, how, why and where does it go?”

The aim of the study is to provide equipment owners, insurance companies and law enforcement with information to help focus risk management and investigation resources in the most effective manner. To achieve this, statistics are put into context through footnotes, analyzed and conclusions drawn that relate to both the protection and investigation of heavy equipment. 

The report provides statistics on thefts in 2003 by state, type of theft location, type of equipment and looks at trends since 1995 that compare equipment theft against other types of loss such as damage.  The report also looks at what type of equipment is being recovered and where.  These statistics are used to suggest the underlying reasons for the high level of theft and low levels of recovery and to gauge the size of the overall problem. 

The full report is available on the NER website (http://www.nerusa.com/stats.asp).  NER member companies may request a more detailed breakdown of data.

Similar reports will be published every January to help track trends and utilize the growing volume of data tracked by NER.