That unchecked cargo could include terrorist weapons, bombs and other destructive devices, Mr. Browning indicated in remarks here during the 75th annual Inland Marine Underwriters Association annual conference.

Cargo isn't the only transportation-related terrorism risk, he noted, citing the threat of suicide bombers transporting explosives in trucks, vans or other vehicles that could easily blend into traffic. He said Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh showed the world the deadly effects of a terrorist attack using a truck loaded with explosives.

Mr. Browning observed that terrorists have come to realize that a van, packed with explosives that are well hidden, wouldn't necessarily raise any red flags with a security guard who is patrolling the front gate at a large manufacturing plant.

“Terrorists watch CNN like you and I do,” he said. “They do sophisticated surveillance of possible targets,” with particular attention paid to on-site security vulnerabilities and tendencies. For example, he noted, terrorists scrutinizing the lay of the land at an airport would find out how close parking lots are to aircraft.

In addition, “terrorists want names of leaders–for example, corporate executives–they might kill or take hostage,” said Mr. Browning. “They're also looking for telephone lines and locations of switchboards, where security guards may be stationed, where there are walls, gates or other barriers.”

Mr. Browning said that terrorists sometimes turn over surveillance work to relatives, getting them jobs at targeted sites so they can obtain information needed to pull off a successful attack.

After his talk to IMUA, Mr. Browning offered risk management recommendations to businesses in a follow-up interview with National Underwriter. “A site analysis is very important to preventing terrorists from getting free access to the facility or business,” he advised. “Employees trained in surveillance detection and attack recognition are needed to help develop a proper response to the initial attack.”

A second security expert on the IMUA panel emphasized the vulnerability of the nation's cargo transportation system–not only in terms of terrorism concerns but standard theft as well.

Indeed, Barry Conlon, business development director for security consultancy First Advantage Corp. in Austin, Texas, estimated that cargo theft totaled between $18 billion and $20 billion last year in the United States alone, with the figure running about $30-to-$50 billion worldwide.

Mr. Conlon emphasized that the supply chain can vary from company to company, adding that “it's important for each company involved to know how the product is moving in each region or country and to understand any associated threat.” He acknowledged that it's common for manufacturers to rely on many different transportation partners while moving products.

In many cases, he said, “the chosen freight forwarder will subcontract over-the-road movements to a variety of different transportation companies, some of which will have no security infrastructure,” and hire drivers for the job without investigating their backgrounds.

In the United States, when a full truck-load theft occurs, in many cases the loss can be attributed to the drivers' poor security practices during rest breaks and their lack of understanding regarding the dynamics of cargo theft, he noted.

Supply Chain Threats

Mr. Conlon urged manufacturers and exporters to become aware of supply chain threats and to mandate “risk mitigation measures whenever possible. Unfortunately, sometimes that message gets lost along the way. In the multitiered transportation system, the message [often] fails to reach the most vulnerable link in the chain–the driver.”

For manufacturers or exporters who wish to make cargo theft a preventable exposure, he added, “a detailed understanding of how their freight moves and the general security conditions associated with these movements is necessary.”

Mr. Conlon recommended that manufacturers work in partnership with their various transportation providers to ensure their security message reaches drivers and all other parties involved in transporting freight.

A third IMUA panelist–Rich Hailey, a detective with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department–focused on his department's specialty investigative unit–the Cargo Criminal Apprehension Team, or “Cargo CATs”–which he said has recovered some $205 million in stolen property.

Cargo CATs got started in 1990, but budget cuts in 2002 “put us out of business for several months” until a few insurance companies and others in the private sector donated money to reactivate the unit, according to Mr. Hailey.

“Our unit isn't as large as it was before, but we're doing everything we can with what we've got to combat cargo theft,” he said.