Cargo theft in the US is going through the roof: it has been growing at a rate north of 20%.
Moreover, it is getting more sophisticated, with more organised criminals leveraging technology to target truckloads of cargo.
According to Verisk CargoNet, which tracks theft trends in the cargo industry, 3,798 incidents of freight theft were reported last year, which marks a 26% rise year on year.
Losses from those incidents added up to $455m, but the actual impact is likely significantly higher, by some estimates above the $1bn mark, as many cases of freight crime are not reported – either because victim companies are reluctant to admit to safety problems, or because management sees little merit in official reports, given the low rate of goods recovered.
As cargo theft is considered a property crime, it has relatively low priority for law enforcement. Moreover, in many cases criminals operate from outside the nation where the theft occurs, which further complicates efforts to bring them to justice and recover stolen goods.
And the problem continues to worsen. Supply chain security and risk management company Overhaul estimates there will be a 22% increase in incidents of cargo theft this year.
Cargo crime is a nationwide problem across the US, but three states stood out in the rise in cargo crime in March, according to the monthly GearTrack Verisk Cargo Security Index published in April. Between them, California (incidents up 34% over February), and Texas and Florida (up 17%) accounted for 54% of all theft incidents registered that month.
In terms of commodities, food and beverages are the prime targets for criminals, followed by household goods.
Of particular concern is the growing sophistication of the criminals. Whereas not so long ago trailer theft from filling stations, rest and parking areas topped trucking crime statistics, today’s criminals are increasingly getting hold of trailers or payments by impersonating bona fide truckers or brokers, using forged documents and hacked information from online platforms. According to Verisk, fraudulent trailer pick-ups constituted about one-third of all thefts last year, up from about 8% in 2020.
“Organised crime groups are developing new, innovative schemes — from non-delivery of loads to following freight trains along delivery routes — and forging documents for fraudulent pick-ups,” confirmed GearTrack GM Ilan Gluck.
Criminals even target companies that work to prevent cargo crime. Texas-based security firm Highway reported blocking more than 900,000 fraud attempts targeting its platform last year.
And cargo crime is not limited to the trucking sector. Warehouses and trains are equally in the criminals’ sights. Theft from rail cars soared to mopre than 65,000 reported cases last year, reports the Association of American Railroads, an increase of about 40% over 2023.
Legislators are alarmed by the rise in cargo crime. In April a bipartisan bill was introduced in the House of Representatives that proposes the establishment of a co-ordination centre within the Department of Homeland Security to deal with cargo theft and organised retail crime. This would closely align the department and the FBI and secure better communication between the agencies and their local branches.
In the Senate, another bipartisan bill aims to give the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration authority to impose stricter regulations and civil penalties against fraudsters.
