The survey sponsored by Lojack and Boomerang Tracking, a Canadian vehicle recovery company, found that 46 percent of respondents reported theft of construction equipment. Of those owners, about 30 percent had experienced theft on more than one occasion.
"Every year millions of dollars in profits are lost due to opportunistic equipment thieves. The construction industry deserves to know the best ways to protect themselves from becoming a victim of theft," said Scott Nilson, Boomerang Tracking's general manager.
Respondents said that 63 percent of stolen equipment was never recovered. The companies said that is because only 6 percent of owners use equipment tracking or recovery devices.
The most popular preventative steps taken by contractors are to keep records of their equipment (59 percent) and fence in their equipment (40 percent).
Nilson said theft costs equipment owners time and money, including insurance deductibles, depreciation and downtime, considering that insurance claims for equipment can take longer than the 30-day standard for vehicles.
