Cargo Theft

Cargo Theft

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines cargo theft as any commercial good stolen between its origin and final destination. This includes thefts from trains, semi-tractors, boats, warehouses, and many other transportation and storage locations. Although the total number and value of cargo theft each year is hard to identify, recent FBI estimates place the loss value at $30 billion dollars a year, resulting in an estimated 20% mark-up in retail prices for consumers. In addition to the monetary costs of cargo theft there is also the human cost, with the potential for truck drivers and employees to be hurt during cargo thefts.

Cargo Theft Methods

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), cargo theft can happen anywhere at any time; however, as with most crimes, there are identified patterns with a higher likelihood of cargo theft occurring at truck stops, parking lots, warehouses, and port cities: All areas where large numbers of commercial vehicles can be found. Many cargo thefts occur shortly after the driver has left the warehouse usually within 200 miles or four hours. Thieves will follow truck drivers until they stop, at which time the cargo is stolen, often in less than five minutes. In addition to thefts of cargo while in transit, there is a growing trend of cargo thefts involving "fraudulent pickups."

A fraudulent pickup is where a driver or trucking company (often accessing cargo load information through online brokering sites) impersonates a legitimate carrier and secures a contract to transport cargo. The cargo is then stolen, often with no trace of the fraudulent driver or trucking company.

Below table identifies cargo thefts by location. Some of the 747 NICB identified incidents may not be represented, as not all of data contained complete information.

2010 NICB Identified Cargo Thefts by State
State	Number of Cargo Thefts	State	Number of Cargo Thefts	State	Number of Cargo Thefts
CA	247	IN	7	NE	1
TX	91	MA	6	MT	1
FL	66	KY	6	LA	1
IL	56	CT	6	KS	1
TN	40	VA	5	CO	1
GA	39	OK	5	WY	0
NJ	17	AZ	4	VT	0
MD	15	AL	4	SD	0
OH	14	WI	3	OR	0
MI	14	NY	3	ND	0
PA	13	NV	3	MN	0
NC	13	UT	2	ME	0
NM	12	IA	2	ID	0
MO	11	WV	1	HI	0
SC	10	WA	1	DE	0
AR	10	RI	1	DC	0
MS	8	NH	1	AK	0

California was identified as the top state for cargo thefts in 2010 with 247 NICB identified incidents. The second highest state for 2010 was Texas (91) with 63% fewer identified cargo thefts than California. Twelve states had no NICB identified cargo thefts in 2010.