During the first half of 2025 alone, cargo theft incidents rose by 10% compared to the same timeframe in 2024. A worrying number of high-dollar heists, such as a cargo load valued at over $3 million stolen in Arizona, show that criminal networks in the U.S are growing bolder and better equipped.
In response to the rising wave of cargo theft, businesses need to adapt their logistics strategies and adopt advanced security measures to stay ahead of threats and protect their shipments from disruption.
How Cargo Theft Happens
Cargo thefts often occur near major freight routes, ports, and urban distribution centers.
Many criminal rings now operate across multiple states, using encrypted communication, advanced tracking, and a mix of physical theft, digital fraud, and social engineering to intercept shipments.
Cargo thieves typically use one of two primary approaches:
Straight Theft
Straight theft involves physically stealing the cargo itself. This can include burglary, pilferage, hijacking, or breaking into unattended trucks and trailers.
Thieves may follow a driver from a loading site, waiting for the first stop to strike, often within the first 200 miles or four hours of departure. Many incidents also occur in poorly secured yards, drop lots, and rest areas.
Common forms of straight theft include:
- Truck Hijackings: Thieves forcibly take control of a vehicle and its contents.
- Grab-and-Run: Criminals break into a trailer or warehouse during short stops to take whatever they can carry.
- False Emergencies and Coerced Stops: Thieves flag down drivers or simulate a vehicle malfunction to lure them into stopping.
Strategic Theft
Strategic theft uses deception instead of force. Criminals pose as legitimate carriers, brokers, or warehouse staff to gain access to valuable freight.
With forged paperwork and cloned websites, they convince shippers or brokers to release shipments into their control.
Key methods include:
- Fictitious Pickups: Impostors show up with falsified documents or stolen identities to collect goods.
- Cyber Fraud: Attackers hack or spoof logistics systems to alter delivery details or create fake load postings.
- Deceptive Re-Routing: Using false instructions, criminals redirect shipments to unauthorized locations.
- Leakage Operations: Criminals gradually remove small quantities from multiple shipments. These incremental losses can go unnoticed for weeks or months, and thieves often return to companies with weak inventory controls.
Strategic theft has become particularly damaging because it often leaves no trace until the cargo has vanished, making recovery extremely difficult.
Cargo Theft Trends and Statistics
Cargo theft across the United States has continued to climb through 2025, with organized criminal activity spreading to new regions and shifting toward in-demand consumer products.
Cargo theft reports have more than doubled over the past decade, rising from an average of four per day (2013–2022) to eleven per day in 2025, according to Verisk CargoNet.
State-by-State Breakdown
The data from Q2-2025 highlights clear geographic and commodity-specific trends:
California is the top target, responsible for 38% of all reported thefts. The most targeted categories in California were Food & Drinks (20%), Electronics (17%), Home & Garden (13%), Clothing & Shoes (11%), and Auto & Parts (10%), which is a combined 71% of all incidents.
Texas ranked second, with 18% of national thefts, down from 21% in both Q1-2025 and Q2-2024. The theft activity there is primarily Electronics (45%) and Metals (36%).
Tennessee saw a steady rise to 15% of total thefts, up from 11% in Q1-2025. Incidents were spread evenly across Home & Garden, Building & Industrial, Miscellaneous, Clothing & Shoes, and Food & Drinks, each accounting for 20% of the total thefts.
Pennsylvania is another growing hotspot, representing 10% of all thefts compared with 8% in Q1-2025 and only 3% in Q2-2024. The most stolen goods were Food & Drinks (27%), followed by Miscellaneous (24%), Cash (13%), Electronics (11%), and Auto & Parts (11%).
Peak Days for Cargo Theft
At certain times of the year, businesses are more vulnerable to cargo theft, which follows predictable spikes during periods of reduced oversight.
The July 4th holiday remains one of the highest-risk periods, particularly around July 1st and July 3rd, when facilities shut down for extended weekends and there tends to be less security coverage.
Similarly, the days following Christmas see a surge in theft activity. Over the last five years, December 27th and 29th have recorded the most incidents.
Memorial Day weekends have also seen major losses, including:
- $3.97 million in pharmaceuticals stolen in Clermont, FL
- $1.6 million in pharmaceuticals, also in Clermont, FL
- $623,913 in pharmaceuticals taken in San Francisco, CA
- $1 million in electronics stolen in Kennesaw, GA
Why Is Cargo Theft on the Rise?
In recent years, cargo thieves have shifted from opportunistic grab-and-run thefts to organized, tech-focused rings that exploit efficiencies built into the supply chain.
Criminals now use doctored invoices and phony credentials to pose as legitimate carriers or receivers, then redirect high-value loads into illicit distribution channels. As Keith Lewis of Verisk CargoNet puts it, the scheme is “low risk and a very high reward.”
Criminals can easily watch market demand and target whatever consumers are buying. In particular, electronics, household goods, and other fast-moving items are easy to convert into cash.
Drivers of the Cargo Theft Surge
An increase in logistics technology and just-in-time handling has created predictable patterns that criminals can study and exploit. Thieves are patient and willing to follow shipments for long stretches, waiting for moments like fuel stops or state-line crossings to make their move.
Traditional hotspots, such as the Los Angeles basin, have consistently been high-risk areas, but incidents are rising in regions with expanding warehousing and shipping operations, including Indianapolis, parts of Arizona, Illinois, and Texas.
Changes in trade policy, such as new import tariffs, can also increase product prices or create shortages. In response, organized criminals will quickly adjust their targets based on these market signals.
Finally, modern tools like automated documentation and real-time tracking make supply chains more efficient, but they can also give criminals detailed intelligence. Organized crime groups, in particular, can use this information to identify vulnerabilities and time their thefts precisely.
They may exploit digital tools, including load boards or GPS jammers, to track shipments, mislead carriers, or interfere with tracking systems, making it easier to steal cargo without being detected.
Industries Most Vulnerable to Cargo Theft
Cargo theft impacts a wide range of businesses, but some industries face a higher risk because their products are easy to resell, difficult to trace, or in high demand.
- Building, Industrial & Home: Materials such as lumber, appliances, furniture, and décor are prime targets because they can be resold quickly with little traceability.
- Food and Beverage: Food and drinks often vanish into secondary markets within hours, while inflation and product shortages raise theft incentives, with items like alcohol, coffee, and energy drinks seeing the sharpest spikes.
- Consumer Electronics: High resale value, particularly for new releases, and constant demand make electronics a favorite for organized theft groups. Even with serial-number tracking, stolen devices quickly enter black markets.
- Clothing & Shoes: Apparel and footwear are targeted because of their high resale value and low traceability once removed from shipping packaging. Designer and limited-edition items are particularly vulnerable and are key targets for organized theft groups.
- Pharmaceuticals: Pharmaceutical cargo represents one of the highest per-load values in freight. Beyond financial loss, theft can endanger public health and damage brand reputation when stolen medications reach unauthorized markets.
Common Vulnerabilities and Primary Causes of Cargo Theft
Cargo theft often stems from preventable weaknesses in logistics and facility security. The following are the most common vulnerabilities that criminals exploit:
- Unsecured loading docks and parking zones: Open or poorly fenced areas allow unauthorized access and make it easy for thieves to approach and remove cargo undetected.
- Gaps in surveillance coverage during off-hours: Inactive or unmonitored cameras during nights, weekends, or holidays give thieves the opportunity to strike when no one is watching.
- Poor lighting or camera placement: Dimly lit facilities and cameras placed too high or at bad angles create blind spots and limit visibility for both guards and monitoring systems.
- Limited staff presence during night or weekend shifts: Reduced staffing means slower response times and fewer deterrents, making after-hours theft more likely.
How to Prevent Cargo Theft
Here’s what you can do for your company to prevent and reduce cargo theft:
Constantly Monitor Your Property
Protecting your cargo begins with maintaining strong, consistent security across your property.
Surveillance cameras give you continuous visibility over your cargo, storage areas, and equipment. Installing these cameras along perimeter fences, loading docks, entry and exit gates, parking areas, trailer yards, and warehouse entrances helps document all activity, making it quicker and easier to spot and respond to unusual behavior.
Mobile surveillance sentinels can also be temporarily deployed in high-risk locations and rotated between sites to maintain 360° coverage of open areas.
To strengthen your surveillance setup, consider partnering with a security provider to conduct a property security audit. An audit helps identify blind spots, lighting gaps, or camera placement issues that reduce coverage while ensuring your surveillance systems are properly integrated with access control and alarm monitoring.
Improve Physical Security Measures
While surveillance can discourage theft and other unauthorized activity, additional physical security measures provide the main line of defense against cargo theft.
Here are some practical tips for implementing physical security in your facility and protecting your cargo:
- Invest in heavy-duty rear door locks, air cuff locks, and strong cable or bolt seals that are difficult to cut or tamper with.
- Keep parking and loading zones well-lit with motion sensors or LED lighting.
- Put up “Authorized Personnel Only” or “24-Hour Surveillance” signs to act as a deterrent.
- Use access control systems at entrances to monitor and restrict who can enter your facility.
- Position trained security guards at key access points or high-traffic areas to maintain a visible presence and discourage unwanted activity.
- Arrange regular guard patrols to walk restricted areas, verify alarms, and check anything that seems out of place, especially at night, on weekends, or during slower shifts.
Track and Monitor Cargo
When cargo is in transit, you’ll need to keep a close eye on its location and condition. Use GPS-based tracking on every shipment to know its exact location at all times. Your team can quickly verify that trucks, containers, or trailers stay on approved routes.
You can also set up automatic alerts for route deviations, extended stops, or unscheduled detours so your team can contact drivers or dispatch support immediately.
For added protection, consider integrating telematics to monitor factors like temperature, door openings, or unusual vehicle activity. Regularly reviewing tracking reports can reveal trends, such as recurring slowdowns or risky routes, that help improve scheduling and reduce exposure to theft.
Conduct Thorough Driver Training
Drivers are key to keeping cargo safe. If they aren’t aware of risks or prepared for emergencies, problems can escalate quickly.
Before each trip, they should ask themselves:
What type of cargo am I carrying?
Which areas on my route are high-risk?
What security measures are in place at each stop?
Where are the nearest safe rest or refueling areas?
Who should I contact if something seems wrong or unusual?
Are all doors, locks, and seals properly secured?
Encourage drivers to stay alert on the road and around loading or rest areas. They should know the correct procedures for reporting any suspicious behavior, such as vehicles following them for long stretches or people taking photos near loading docks.
Drivers can also vary their routes and stopping points when possible, especially for recurring deliveries, to make it harder for thieves to predict patterns.
Reviewing cargo theft data and sharing it with drivers gives them concrete examples of where and how thefts happen, highlights patterns or high-risk areas, and shows which driving practices are most effective at preventing incidents.
Implement Strict Cargo Handling and Pickup Procedures
Strict controls during handling and pickup help prevent both external theft and insider threats.
Begin by keeping detailed records of every handoff and performing regular audits to catch discrepancies. Then, set clear pickup authorization policies, defining who can approve shipments and maintaining a documented list of approved carriers and drivers.
Before releasing a load, document the trailer, license plates, DOT placards, driver ID, bill of lading, seal, and the interior of the loaded trailer. Your facility can also use unique pickup codes for each shipment, share them only with the authorized carrier, and require verification at pickup.
Protect Your Business From Cargo Theft With the Latest Security Technology
Cargo theft can have a serious impact on businesses of any size or industry. Lost profits are only the start of the problem.
Every theft increases insurance costs, delays deliveries, and strains customer relationships. Even a single incident can disrupt schedules and inventory, and replacing custom or limited products can take weeks. In the process, companies risk both their revenue and reputation.
The good news is that many of these risks can be prevented. Using professional security services, including surveillance, access control, and guard patrols, helps keep your shipments safe from the warehouse to the final delivery point.
Contact us now for a quote or explore our full range of supply chain and logistics security services.
