The bad news is that cargo theft across the United States and Canada remains at record levels. Reported cargo theft incidents are up more than 90% since 2021, with high-tech strategic cargo thefts soaring by 1,500%.
It is costing trucking an estimated $18 million per day, and across the supply chain, the cost is as high as $35 billion annually, according to the American Transportation Research Institute.
If there is good news entering 2026, it is that cargo theft has attracted the attention of Congress, and that there are more steps trucking fleets and freight brokers can take to protect themselves.
Chris Spear, president of the American Trucking Associations, was invited to testify recently before a House Judiciary subcommittee, which is considering the Combating Organized Retail Crime (CORCA) Act. It provided Spear with a platform to help inform lawmakers on the complexities of cargo theft.
“Straight theft has been around since trucks have been on the road. It involves the physical theft of cargo from a distribution center or the back of a truck,” said Spear. “Strategic theft involves the use of advanced cyber tactics to trick shippers, brokers, and carriers, to divert and hand overloads. This high-tech form, cargo theft, has become a digital Renaissance for thieves, surging 1,500% since 2021.”
He stressed that the modern, transnational aspect of cargo theft makes it a growing national security issue. Additionally, with so much freight moving across state lines, it cannot be left to the states alone to address the problem.
Crime issues related to the U.S.-Mexico border came up several times during the hearing, but Spear redirected the conversation to highlight the global reach of the strategic cargo theft.
“This is the escalating type of crime that’s not just the Southern border, it’s around the world,” Spear said. “And the access through a laptop is the catalyst for doing that.”
Spear emphasized the complexity of these operations, which often operate out of Eastern Europe, Russia, South Africa, and China. “These are places where if you have a laptop, you have access to a system,” he said. “You can go into a bill of lading and redirect freight as it’s in motion.”
Spear also explained to lawmakers that these digital thieves are aware of the contents of the trailers, enabling them to target high-value shipments. Verisk CargoNet reported that the average stolen shipment in the third quarter was $336,787, up from $168,448 in the third quarter of 2024, indicating that thieves are becoming more strategic.
The global nature of these threats makes response times more critical than ever before, said Dan O’Sullivan, chairman of the Transportation Intermediaries Association’s fraud task force.
Speaking on a recent TIA webinar, he said that more stolen goods are being rapidly shipped to international destinations, narrowing the recovery window for fleets and brokers in North America after an incident. O’Sullivan is the owner of United States of Freight, a third-party logistics firm based in Florida.
“It’s important to identify your loads that have a high propensity for theft and manage those separately from the rest of your freight,” said Andrew Smith, senior vice president at Circle Logistics. Smith suggested having more trusted people involved in high-value shipments, and using “a higher standard of carrier selection for those loads.”
Longtime cargo theft expert Scott Cornell said that when it comes to strategic theft, the point of pickup, such as a warehouse or distribution center, is the weakest link in the supply chain.
“That’s where the freight changes hands, and is handed off to the bad guys, or to the person that the bad guys are sending,” said Cornell, who serves as chairman of the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA).
Cornell warned that more bad actors are using false information to obtain legitimate identification to build what appears to be an honest company. However, after stealing a handful of loads, the individuals and company disappear, making recovery even more difficult.
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