Cargo crime in North America down in Q3, but losses are mounting
Organised criminal networks are increasingly exploiting identity fraud, carrier impersonation and weaknesses in freight verification, driving cargo theft losses across Canada and the US up 39% year on year, despite a sharp decline in reported incidents
Verisk CargoNet recorded 2,072 of reported supply chain crime incidents across the countries through to 23 October, marking a 25% decrease in total numbers from the 2,755 recorded during the comparable period in 2025.
VP operations at Verisk CargoNet Keith Lewis told The Loadstar: "But while the number of incidents declined, the financial impact moved in the opposite direction, losses increasing 39% to $718.9m."
Furthermore, he noted that the average documented value of stolen goods had also registered a massive surge, 72% year on year, from approximately $261,000 to more than $448,000.
Over the third quarter, CargoNet recorded 547 incidents, approximately 33% fewer than a year earlier, but estimated losses still reached $230.1m, with California accounting for the largest share, with 182 incidents, followed by New Jersey, Texas, and Illinois.
"The data shows why fewer reported incidents should not necessarily be interpreted as lower cargo theft risk. Losses associated with these events are becoming increasingly significant," Mr Lewis added.
Among the biggest concerns are fictitious pickups, where criminals impersonate legitimate carriers to collect and divert shipments, with CargoNet recording 138 such incidents in Q3, compared with 147 over the same period of 2025.
Mr Lewis continued: "Criminals are looking for ways to exploit identity, communications, and shipment-verification processes to pose as legitimate participants in the supply chain."
He noted these efforts tended to involve schemes making use of compromised business email accounts, internet-based phone systems, and transport-industry applications.
On a commodity basis, food and beverages was the most frequently targeted category in Q3, accounting for 94 incidents, followed by metals (63), household goods (49), and electronics (46), while warehouses and distribution centres accounted for 197 reported incidents.
Chair of TAPA Americas Scott Cornell told The Loadstar: "Cargo theft has fundamentally changed in the US over the last six years. We have seen massive increases in the overall cargo theft numbers and values, and, in particular, a significant rise in strategic cargo theft."
He estimated strategic theft, involving deception rather than straightforward physical stealing, had risen 10-fold this decade, up from less than 3% of all cargo theft before 2020 to roughly 30% or more.
While he stressed the majority of incidents involved conventional physical theft, Mr Cornell said: "Bad actors are using technology such as AI to become increasingly sophisticated and globalised, running these schemes from anywhere in the world."
One emerging technique, the "Trojan Driver Scam", involves criminals infiltrating legitimate, vetted trucking companies, highlighting the limitations of verification systems concentrating on checking carriers rather than individual drivers.
Consequently, Mr Cornell said: "Thorough background checks and carrier- and driver-level vetting need to be standard due diligence."
Indeed, the Airforwarders' Association (AfA) is calling on US lawmakers to strengthen federal response by incorporating the Combating Organised Retail Crime Act (CORCA) into the final fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act.
AfA CEO Steve Smith said: "Forwarders are dealing with organised networks across state lines, exploiting gaps between jurisdictions. Republicans and Democrats should continue working together to give law enforcement and businesses the tools to root them out."
The legislation, which passed the House of Representatives, would establish an Organised Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Centre and improve intelligence sharing between federal, state, and local law enforcement, and private sector organisations.
Mr Smith told The Loadstar: "It would help investigators connect related incidents across jurisdictions. A fraudulent pickup in one state and a stripped trailer in another may involve the same network, but fragmented information can make connection harder to identify."
Furthermore, it also includes provisions to aggregate theft values over a 12-month period for certain federal stolen property offences, alongside expanded money laundering provisions and criminal forfeiture measures.
AfA members have reported criminals buying established federal motor carrier registrations from struggling hauliers for $25,000-$35,000, with Mr Smith noting that this allows them to exploit years of apparently clean operating history.
"Two extra minutes up front can save you two months of difficulty on the back end," Mr Cornell said, urging forwarders and trucking companies to strengthen verification procedures, train frontline employees and check drivers' identities before releasing shipments.
