New data shows cargo theft continues to increase

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: Cargo theft is on the rise.

According to data from CargoNet, a Jersey City, N.J.-based data- and information-sharing company working with carriers and law enforcement to combat cargo theft, there were a total of 582 cargo theft events the United States and Canada in the second quarter of 2023.

That number marks a 57% increase compared to the second quarter of 2022. The company said the jump came mainly from one particular type of theft.

“Much of the increase is due to ongoing shipment misdirection attacks, a kind of strategic cargo theft in which actors use stolen motor carrier and logistics broker identities to obtain freight and misdirect it from the intended receiver so they (can) steal it,” CargoNet said in a statement.

CargoNet added that in the second quarter of 2023, “cargo thieves focused on high-value shipments,” with over $44 million in recorded theft. Food and beverage and electronics were the top commodities targeted by thieves over the three-month span. The average value per incident was $260,703, an increase of nearly $100,000 over the previous quarter.

Full trailer thefts were another area to see an increase in the second quarter of 2023, with a 17% increase over the previous year.

According to CargoNet, full trailer thefts were most common in California, Texas, Florida and Illinois. The company also noted “significant” regional theft activity around New York City and Philadelphia.

While recent law enforcement efforts have helped curb some full trailer thefts, there is still a “significant threat” to high-value shipments along the I-40 corridor through Arizona, California and New Mexico,” CargoNet said.

Of course, the physical act of theft is just part of the equation. The company added that extortion and theft by conversion schemes also have increased substantially. It said the bulk of this has come from organized groups in Illinois and California.

“These groups focus on obtaining shipments from logistics brokers, tacking on extra and often exorbitant fees for various manufactured reasons like overweight tickets or previous rate penalties charged to non-affiliated motor carriers,” CargoNet said. “Criminal enforcement for such cases is complex and rare, which has emboldened organized groups.”

The issue of cargo theft has become so prevalent that several lawmakers are calling for the creation of a permanent task force to address supply chain thefts, expressing their concerns in a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General in May.

“We urge the Office of Inspector General to consider creating a special unit within the office, in consultation with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Department of Justice, to investigate, refer and prosecute cases of transportation fraud in a systematic, concerted manner.”

In August, DOT Inspector General Eric Soskin penned a letter in response to their concerns, saying his office would continue to collaborate with FMCSA to investigate double brokering and other fraud schemes.

“Recognizing the importance of preventing and detecting fraud, waste and abuse in our transportation system, we will continue to partner with FMCSA and the Department of Justice to investigate the most egregious allegations of household goods moving and double-brokering fraud, in addition to our primary focus on cases that align with OIG’s top investigative priorities,” Soskin wrote in the response letter. LL