Construction Theft Statistics: How Much Is Stolen from Sites Each Year?

How much is stolen from construction sites each year?

One billion dollars. That’s the estimated annual loss from equipment theft on construction sites.

Even at those high costs, that figure does not include the value of stolen raw materials or loss of productivity from shutdowns and delays. The National Equipment Register (NER) — a service that facilitates information sharing with insurers, equipment owners, and law enforcement — pegs the average cost of a single instance of equipment theft at $30,000.

Big numbers. Big risk. Can you afford that? Can anyone?

Here are some real cases of construction site theft in recent years.

This criminal activity is increasingly common and costly:

• A Middletown, Ohio contractor was left with $20,000-30,000 worth of damage after thieves stole his trailer and Bobcat
• A lone thief got away with more than $43,500 worth of raw materials and tools over a three-day spree in Concord Township
• Thieves managed to steal a $10,000 industrial generator that was bolted to a concrete slab at a building site in Missouri
• In Michigan, a thief drove a $165,000 Caterpillar loader off a construction site after driving there in another piece of equipment he stole earlier from a different site
• The Pikes Peak region of Colorado reported 250 instances of construction site theft worth $1.04 million in just the first eight months of 2021
• Thieves used the equipment present at a site in Texas to load and steal $75,000 worth of lumber
• Construction sites in Colorado Springs have partnered with Crime Stoppers to offer a $1,000 reward for information about thefts and vandalism

What are the most commonly stolen items from the construction industry?

Construction sites often have a lot of valuable items lying around, from heavy equipment to raw materials and small tools. It’s a very tempting target for would-be thieves and burglars.

→ Lumber is a frequently stolen item. It’s hard to trace, easy to resell, and simple to load into a truck and drive away. Combine that with rising lumber prices — which have increased by over 300% since 2020 — and it’s no surprise that thieves target this material.

→ Copper. The Department of Energy says that $1 billion worth of copper is stolen each year from a variety of locations, including construction sites. But beyond the value of the metal itself — roughly $4.44/pound at the time of writing — is the damage done, as some thieves opt to rip apart buildings to get to the copper wiring and piping.

→ Power tools. There is a thriving black market for both new and used power tools. These items are often easy to steal because workers don’t always remember to put them away and lock them up. And they can easily be resold on platforms like Facebook Marketplace.

→ Heavy equipment theft is among the priciest, and can end up costing hundreds of thousands of dollars or more.

The top five most stolen equipment pieces from job sites are:

1. Wheeled or tracked loaders, including backhoes and skid steers
2. Towables, including generators, light towers, and chippers
3. Excavators
4. Trailers and RVs
5. Utility vehicles

Beyond the type of heavy equipment, here are the most commonly stolen brands in 2016:

1. John Deere (2,420 reported thefts)
2. Kubota (1,315)
3. Bobcat (882)
4. Cat (773)
5. Toro (368)

Large equipment means large risk. Protect it with a service like HELPtech or IRONwatch, along with Deep Sentinel’s construction site security solution.

What are the impacts of construction site theft?

Construction site theft has far-reaching impacts on both the project and the business:

• High replacement costs for stolen equipment, tools, and materials. It should be noted that the recovery rate for stolen equipment hovers somewhere around 20% most years. In other words, there’s a good chance you’ll never see that equipment again.
• Delays in project progress or complete halts, as missing materials (e.g., copper wiring or lumber) prevent work from continuing.
• Disruption to cash flow, especially if progress payments are tied to project milestones. Contractors may need to pay upfront out of pocket and wait for insurance reimbursement, adding financial strain.
• Extended timelines and increased budgets, potentially turning a profitable project into an unworkable one.
• Insurance premiums increase after filing a claim, along with paying the deductible.

RELATED POST: How Video Monitoring Affects Construction Insurance Premiums

How often does construction site theft happen?

It’s easy to dismiss the risk of theft as something that will never happen to you. But in construction, you’re more likely to be a victim of theft than any other calamity. Theft is a bigger risk than vandalism, fire damage, collision, water damage, flood, volcanic eruption, or earthquake.

There were 11,574 reports of stolen equipment in 2016, the most recent year for which comprehensive data is available, according to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). That’s a little more than 31 incidents per day.

Where does construction site theft happen most often?

Theft from building sites happens across the country and in every state. But it happens a lot more in some than others.

According to the National Equipment Register, here are the top ten states for equipment theft:

1. Texas (2,375 reports in 2016)
2. North Carolina (796)
3. Florida (763)
4. California (694)
5. Georgia (577)
6. South Carolina (512)
7. Tennessee (449)
8. Oklahoma (445)
9. Arkansas (362)
10. Alabama (338)

All but Alabama in the number ten spot averaged more than one theft per day during the year.

The top ten cities were all either in Texas (six out of the top 10) or Florida (three out of the top 10), with the exception of Oklahoma City.

What security measures prevent construction site theft?

There is plenty you could do to reduce the risks, protect your equipment and material, and make your site less vulnerable to theft:

• Register heavy equipment with NER, which has helped police recover over $12 million in stolen equipment in 2016
• Record serial numbers for smaller equipment and power tools
• Create a security plan and end-of-day security checklist
• Control access with fences, gates, and locks
• Ensure adequate lighting throughout the site
• Consider anchoring and other immobilization techniques
• Install a security system with alarms and surveillance cameras
• Lock up tools and keys at night
• Consider hiring security guards if your budget allows for it
• Install business security cameras with live security monitoring

RELATED POST: How to Set Up a Construction Site Security Plan

Prevent construction site theft with AI-powered surveillance cameras and live guards.

Deep Sentinel combines HD security cameras, artificial intelligence, and live surveillance guards to offer unmatched security. It’s proactive protection that extends beyond the perimeter of your build site. Deep Sentinel is the only provider that can promise zero false alarms and prevention before the crime occurs.

Don’t become a statistic. Go with Deep Sentinel and keep construction going and profitable.

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