Did you know that tire and wheel theft insurance claims have risen 6% year-over-year across markets in the U.S.? Theft of tires is a persistent and costly threat for commercial properties, with financial losses that go up well into the thousands and even tens of thousands.
Opportunistic thieves target tires and rims because they’re valuable, easy to remove, and can be quickly sold for cash. A stolen set of tires can be sold in a matter of hours after the crime is committed. Tires also have low traceability, making recouping these stolen assets virtually impossible.
Site managers who fall victim to this crime often face expensive replacements, higher insurance premiums, and potential downtime for vehicles or equipment. Learn how security gaps can cost your business and what measures to take to prevent tire theft at your site.
Why Tire Theft Is a Growing Threat for Businesses
Thieves are interested in tires for the following reasons:
- High resale value: Tire theft is a profitable crime, with tires able to be sold easily on resale markets. Factory alloy wheels and near-new tires come with high price tags, and luxury wheels can go for even more.
- Easy to remove and move: Removing a set of wheels takes minutes — much faster compared to whole vehicle theft. Thieves need only a jack and lug wrench to take tires off the rims. Tires are also relatively lightweight and easy to move off your property.
- Weak physical defenses: Many sites can become targets of tire theft, like auto auction lots, tire warehouses, car rental lots, and vehicle fleet yards. These areas are often in remote locations with poor lighting and inadequate perimeter security measures.
The Cost of Not Taking Action Against Fleet Tire Theft
Inaction can cost businesses both financially and non-financially. These negative effects compound over time and can be difficult to recover from.
Reputation and Customer Trust
Tire theft can lead to canceled deliveries and damaged or unsafe rental vehicles that undermine customer confidence. When consumers lose trust in your business, you may see a decline in online reviews, brand perception, and business partnerships. In some cases, thieves may swap worn tires onto rental vehicles, which creates safety risks that directly damage your credibility.
Operational Disruption and Service Degradation
Vehicles out of service for repairs or waiting for new tires reduce fleet availability, increasing delays and forcing schedules to be shuffled around. Lower fleet availability leads to missed pickups and deliveries. Canceled vehicle rentals result in customer inconvenience and potential contract penalties or churn.
In addition, these incidents force business owners to suspend routine operations to deal with reactive crisis management rather than focusing on core business activities or strategic priorities.
Employee Safety, Morale, and Retention
Your employees will not stay in positions where they feel unsafe or undervalued. Ongoing risks of tire theft can increase employee turnover and make hiring harder for frontline roles. Staff who must deal with theft incidents and hostile encounters may suffer from stress that lowers morale and productivity.
Trust With Insurers and Business Partners
While commercial property insurance is essential, relying on it too much can lead to major pitfalls. Insurers may impose stricter terms, exclusions, or tougher underwriting after repeated claims. In fact, a single claim can increase premiums by 20%.
Similarly, lenders and contract partners may view businesses that experience tire theft as higher risk, jeopardizing financing or other commercial relationships.
Why Traditional Security Falls Short in Tire Theft Prevention
Traditional security measures like chain-link fencing and security guards have many weaknesses when used independently.
Chain-link fences are easy for determined criminals to breach using the right tools, like bolt cutters. The woven galvanized steel mesh also makes this type of fence easy to climb. Depending on the condition of your chain-link fence, intruders may even be able to slide underneath to gain access to your site.
Many businesses hire security guards to compensate for the pitfalls of chain-link fencing, but the truth is that security guards have many drawbacks.
Removing a set of tires takes only a few minutes. By the time a guard has time to arrive on the scene, chances are the thief will be gone. This issue is further compounded when limited security personnel are tasked with patrolling a large site with extensive perimeters and multiple access points. Intruders can easily exploit these gaps in traditional security, getting away before anyone has time to notice.
Effective tire theft prevention requires adopting a more proactive approach based on active deterrence and rapid response.
Taking a More Proactive Approach to Tire Theft Protection
A proactive tire theft protection strategy combines multiple layers of physical security for an integrated approach. These layers of perimeter security include:
- Electric fencing: An electric fence is a highly effective visual deterrent and formidable physical barrier. The Electric Guard Dog™ Fence delivers a safe but memorable shock if anyone tries to breach your perimeter — deterring criminals and protecting your valuable assets.
- Commercial video surveillance: Once your electric fencing is installed, high-definition cameras can be placed strategically around your perimeter to capture evidence of criminal activity. This footage can be used in future investigations as well as sent to local law enforcement as video proof.
- Remote and mobile monitoring: Gain peace of mind knowing your lot is monitored 24/7 by security professionals with remote monitoring. You can also review real-time camera footage around the clock from a desktop computer or mobile device.
- Gate Access Control: Ensure protection and security at all entry and exit points of your site with Gate Access Control. You can secure all gates with features like credential readers, AI cameras, license plate recognition, specialized gate locks, and more. Plus, the system integrates with your electric fence for a unified solution.
- Alarm-based security lighting: Alarm-based lighting systems help remove hiding spots and deter unauthorized activity. Lighting options integrate with your electric fencing system, illuminating the area when the fence alarm is activated.
Protect Your Business With AMAROK
Tire and wheel theft is a costly threat for businesses, especially dealerships, fleet yards, and tire warehouses. The time to upgrade your security posture and protect your core assets is now. And AMAROK can help.
AMAROK is an award-winning, industry-leading perimeter security solutions provider. We are proud to secure over 8,000 sites, and 99% of our customers experience zero external theft after installation.
Get in touch with the AMAROK team for a free expert threat assessment today.
