Why Cargo Theft Is Rising in the U.S. — and What You Can Do to Protect Your Shipments

Person in handcuffs in container yard

You’re not imagining things: Cargo theft really is on the rise — and it has been for a while.

CargoNet reported that cargo theft activity across the U.S. and Canada reached "unprecedented levels" in 2024, which saw a 27 percent year-over-year increase in incidents. The estimated average value per cargo theft also rose to $202,364, up 7.7 percent from $187,895 the previous year.

With transportation providers of all sizes on red alert for bad actors and shippers feeling anxious, the current state of affairs begs the question: Why is cargo theft on the rise?

And, perhaps more importantly: What can we do about it? 

Anderson Trucking Service (ATS) has been in business for 70 years, and in that time, we’ve seen cargo crime evolve from highway robbery to high-tech hacking. Our team works constantly to identify risks, mitigate them, and protect our customers from criminal activity — and we’re happy to share our knowledge to help you do the same. 

In this article, we’ll explain the key factors driving the rise in cargo theft, the most common theft tactics in play, and our practical tips to help you minimize your risk. You’ll come away better prepared to protect your company from these losses in the future. 

The Alarming Rise in Cargo Theft: Facts Freight Shippers Should Know

In December 2024, FreightWaves reported that 48 percent of freight brokers said cargo theft was the biggest industry-wide issue of the year. 

And it’s easy to see why: In 2024, cargo theft was responsible for an estimated total loss of nearly $455 million. 

The number of incidents is also rising year-over-year. According to CargoNet, while reported thefts increased in most states, the most significant spikes were observed in Texas (39 percent) and California (33 percent). Together with Illinois,  these states represent 46 percent of all reported cargo theft incidents in 2024.

These states all boast high levels of manufacturing, distribution, and commerce activity across modes, making them ideal hunting grounds for thieves. Warehouses and distribution centers were the most targeted location types in 2024, followed by truck stops. 

Food and beverage loads top the list of most-targeted cargo types, followed by electronics and household goods. Also on the rise are commodities like:

  • Automotive parts
  • Copper products
  • Cryptocurrency mining hardware
  • Hard liquor
  • High-end consumer electronics, such as audio equipment and servers
  • Personal care products, like cosmetics 
  • Produce, like avocados and nuts
  • Vitamins and supplements, especially protein powder 

most stolen cargoes 2025

The most at-risk cargoes sit squarely within a trifecta of criteria: high value, high consumer demand, and low trackability. These factors make it easy for thieves to offload their ill-gotten gains on the black market, or to other buyers who simply don’t know (or care to know) where the product comes from. 

With both money and reputation on the line, shippers and carriers alike are invested in avoiding cargo theft. However, modern technology has empowered thieves to rapidly evolve their tactics and complicate the prevention landscape.

Key Factors Driving the Increase in Cargo Theft in 2025

No crisis is created in a vacuum. The recent surge in cargo theft is the result of many intertwined factors coming to bear at once, creating an ideal environment for criminal activity.

Let’s take a deeper look at three of the biggest factors contributing to the current cargo theft boom: 

  1. Economic Pressures. With the immediate economic future uncertain following the 2024 election, shippers and their customers have little appetite for risk. Rising costs, supply chain disruptions, and recession fears have increased the value of shipments, making them prime targets for theft.

  2. Organized Crime. The involvement of organized crime networks in cargo theft has escalated over the past several years, with a notable surge observed since 2022. The upward trend of organized cargo theft may be due to the industry’s low barrier to entry and relatively high turnover. As smaller carriers exit the over-saturated freight market, it creates a continuous flow of for-sale legitimate enterprises for bad actors to acquire and turn fraudulent.

  3. Reliance on Technology. While the digitalization of logistics has made operations infinitely easier for both shippers and carriers, it has also created vulnerabilities within the supply chain that thieves are all too eager to exploit. Automated systems and digital freight systems require less human oversight, creating openings for thieves to hack systems, manipulate data, forge documents, and intercept shipments.

Each of these factors has helped to lay bare the weaknesses of the modern, more automated supply chain, underscoring the need for increased diligence by carriers and shippers alike. 

Common Cargo Theft Tactics

Cargo theft is nothing new — as long as there have been merchants moving goods from one place to another, there have been thieves eager to prey on them — but the methods used have shifted and changed at pace with technology and commerce.

In the past, common tactics for cargo theft revolved around intercepting the cargo while en route to a destination. Called “straight theft” or “road theft,” this strategy is fittingly straightforward: a driver might park their truck overnight in an unsecured lot and wake to find their trailer missing or broken into, for example. 

While straight theft still represents a major issue in the modern cargo theft landscape — CargoNet noted that trailer burglaries and full trailer thefts were particularly prevalent in major metropolitan areas in 2024, including Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, and New York City — incidents of theft by deception claimed the most media attention over the last year.

Strategic theft, sometimes referred to as "theft-by-deception schemes," is the process of fraudulently impersonating legitimate carriers, brokers, or shippers (or otherwise deceiving stakeholders in a supply chain) with the goal of intercepting and stealing cargo. These tactics are often well-organized and can be difficult to detect.

Strategic theft relies on the manipulation of data and paperwork, often through digital means, to impersonate legitimate businesses and remotely engineer access to cargo. As such, digital freight management systems are a major target for bad actors.

Thieves use hacking, phishing, and malware to infiltrate systems, manipulate data, access accounts, and gain sensitive information about shippers, schedules, cargo, and high-value loads. 

Digital crime

Fraudulently impersonating legitimate parties isn’t the only way thieves are getting their hands on cargo. There has been a recent rise in criminals purchasing legitimate motor carrier authorities (MC authorities) to pose as an established carrier. 

Some may purchase small trucking companies (typically single-truck operations) for the express purpose of stealing freight under the guise of a reputable company. 

Once they have stolen or purchased their false identity, the thieves will move to intercept cargoes in a variety of ways, including: 

  • Altered bills-of-lading (BOLs). Thieves will fraudulently obtain a shipment and steal a portion of the freight. They then recreate the shipment’s bill of lading (BOL) by scanning it and editing the load details to reflect their alterations.

    When the load is delivered to its legitimate final destination, workers sign the fake BOL in good faith, as they do not notice a shortage. The deception then goes undetected until an inventory is taken or the shipper is looking for payment, which may take weeks or even months. 

  • Bad-faith brokering. Criminals will broker a stolen load to an unsuspecting legitimate carrier. Believing it to be a legitimate transaction, this carrier then moves the load to the destination of the criminals’ choosing.

  • Fictitious pick-ups. Also called non-delivery schemes, thieves will use falsified credentials and paperwork to pick up legitimate shipments. In most cases, the legitimate carrier in question has no knowledge that their identity has been stolen; their arrival at the pick-up location may be the means through which the crime is discovered.

    Fictitious pick-ups have become increasingly common; in 2023, CargoNet recorded 576 fictitious pickup events, far exceeding the average of 66 per year for the last decade.

  • Hostaged cargo. Posing as legitimate carriers, bad actors will access a broker’s load board and fraudulently pick up a shipment. After moving the freight to a third location, the thieves will call the brokerage and demand a ransom sum for the freight’s return. In many cases, the cargo is never returned, even if the ransom is received.

In the vast majority of strategic theft cases, the thieves themselves rarely engage in the initial pickup of the cargo or lay eyes on the trailer carrying their targeted freight; the drivers and workers handling the stolen goods often have no idea they are engaged in criminal activity. 

There has been an astonishing increase in strategic cargo theft as of late — nearly 1,500 percent since 2021, according to CargoNet. 

This sharp spike can be attributed in part to criminals leveraging digital tools to become more sophisticated, but technology is far from the only factor at play. 

6 Practical Steps to Minimize Cargo Theft Risks for Freight Shippers

As a shipper, it’s easy to feel like there’s nothing you can do to prevent cargo theft, as so many of the red flags are only visible once the shipment has left your hands. 

But the truth is that shippers can play a critical role in recognizing suspicious behaviors, alerting legitimate stakeholders to the issue, and preventing criminals from accessing cargo.

Here are six actionable steps you can take to minimize the cargo theft risks to your shipping enterprise: 

  1. Partner with Trusted Carriers and Brokers. By thoroughly vetting carriers and brokers, you can ensure your company works only with reliable partners who prioritize security and uphold industry standards. Institute a policy of sharing shipment information with only key internal personnel and your legitimate, vetted transportation partner.

  2. Don’t Trust — Verify. Train your employees to verify every truck that enters your facilities. By confirming each driver’s identity, checking for the carrier’s logo and motor carrier number on the truck, and meticulously reviewing shipment documents, you can catch any inconsistencies while the truck is still on-site and prevent unauthorized personnel from handling your cargo.

  3. Secure Your Physical Facilities. Consider installing cameras, employing guards, adding more warehouse/loading dock workers, and enforcing restricted access zones. These precautions can provide extra security and empower your team to take a proactive role in deterring theft attempts.

  4. Continued Training and Awareness. Adopt a practice of continued employee education on current cargo theft risks and prevention to equip them to recognize threats, follow secure protocols, and act as the first line of defense. This article is a great introductory resource to share with your team!

    truck driver finishes loading dry van
  5. Leverage Data and Community Intelligence. Analyzing historical theft trends and collaborating with industry partners can help you weed bad actors out of your carrier network, optimize routes, mitigate risks, and stay ahead of emerging threats.

  6. See Something? Say Something. It’s always better to raise a concern and risk it being unfounded than to stay silent and become the victim of a crime. Quickly report any unusual activities to your trusted transportation partner — preferably over the phone, as this helps address potential threats in real-time while reducing the risk of email-based identity fraud.

By taking these steps to minimize your cargo theft risks, you can do your part to prevent major losses — and position yourself to catch suspicious activity early, which will help immensely in avoiding incidents.

Protect Your Shipments Against Cargo Theft

Cargo theft is more than just a growing concern — it’s a call to action for shippers to take proactive measures in protecting their assets. With rising incidents fueled by economic pressures, organized crime, and technological vulnerabilities, the time to strengthen your defenses is now. 

The stakes are high, but the solutions are within reach. From partnering with trusted carriers and verifying every truck that enters your facility to securing your warehouses and training your employees, there are tangible steps you can take today to reduce your exposure to theft.

We encourage you to take this opportunity to assess your current security strategies, implement best practices, and empower your team to act as the first line of defense. By building a culture of vigilance, you can protect your shipments and your business from this costly and disruptive threat.

Finally, speaking of threats: While no digital tool can ever be 100 percent infallible against cyberattacks, a secure customer portal can provide peace of mind and an open line of communication between your team and your transportation partner. 

Check out our guide to The Pros and Cons of Freight Shipper Customer Portals to learn about how this tool could help you achieve greater visibility — and therefore greater security — into your freight’s movements.

Tags: Freight Brokerage, Flatbed Shipping, Peak Season Shipping, Dry Van Shipping, Supply Chain Tips, Food and Beverage, Industry News

Mark Andres

Written by Mark Andres

Mark has been with ATS Logistics, in various roles, since January 2006. Starting as a regional carrier representative, Mark's work ethic and leadership excellence helped him rise through ATS Logistics' ranks where he was promoted first to operations manager and then to operations director thereafter — a position he's held for over five years now. Although Mark enjoys many parts of his job, witnessing and contributing to the growth and development of ATS Logistics' employees tops the list as he strives to help each new hire reach their full potential as a member of the ATS Logistics family.

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