Reported incidents of cargo theft soared 59% in Q3, CargoNet says

Cargo security company CargoNet says it recorded 692 incidents of theft and pilferage in the U.S. and Canada during the third quarter, a 59% increase from the third quarter of 2022.

The increase was largely fueled by a sharp rise in what are known as “shipment misdirection” attacks, in which bad actors use stolen identities from truckers and freight brokers to obtain freight that can be “misdirected” from the intended receivers. These so-called strategic thefts increased 430% year over year, CargoNet reported. By contrast, the incidence of theft of a fully loaded trailer increased by only 4%.

Cargo theft, especially strategic thefts, is expected to continue at “unprecedented levels” through year’s end, CargoNet said on Thursday. Throughout the year, strategic cargo theft rings have accelerated their efforts during holiday periods, and the upcoming holidays will be no different.

Truckload shipments of commodities like copper, brass and aluminum are being targeted, along with licensed sports apparel and personal care and beauty products, CargoNet said.

The company said that strategic cargo theft groups are pioneering methods of theft that seek to evade common compliance practices used by brokers. In particular, thieves are targeting small truckers or owner-operators in efforts to hijack their accounts or to persuade them to solicit shipments from brokers, CargoNet said. “Both strategies seek to evade identity-theft checks” that a broker normally performs before tendering a shipment, CargoNet said.

The actual incidence of cargo theft is typically higher than what is publicly reported, according to CargoNet. There are various reasons for this, according to Keith Lewis, the company’s vice president of operations. A pilfered shipment is considered a cost of doing business and is seen as an embarrassment to the victims, so it is often never reported, he said. Because law enforcement considers many supply chain disruptions to be civil issues, it can be difficult to report identity theft crimes and hostage loads, Lewis said.

Jurisdictional issues with law enforcement also keep loads from being reported, Lewis said. “Cargo stolen somewhere in transit is difficult to file a report when you don’t know where to file,” he said.