New analysis of cargo theft trends for the third quarter of 2024 highlights a significant year-over-year increase in thefts and evolving tactics employed by organized crime groups, according to CargoNet, a Verisk business focused in cargo theft prevention and recovery.

There were 776 recorded cargo theft events across the United States and Canada in Q3 2024, a 14 percent increase compared to Q3 2023.

The total value of stolen goods exceeded $39 million for the quarter, the data showed.

A slight decrease of 1.6 percent in theft incidents was detected compared to Q2 2024, though this gap is expected to close with delayed reporting.

The primary drivers of cargo theft continue to be organized crime groups specializing in strategic forms of cargo theft that typically involve some form of document fraud, identity theft, and intent to steal the property they are being entrusted to transport, CargoNet added.

Organized crime groups have intensified efforts to gain unauthorized access to motor carriers’ official email accounts. The compromised accounts are then used to bid on shipments and bypass compliance checks. This method has grown in popularity in response to the industry instituting policies that rate confirmation documents should only be sent to official emails.

Previously centered around recently purchased authorities in California, organized crime groups are now primarily interested in authorities in states not thought to be high-risk for cargo theft, after many companies have instituted policies that they will not accept new carriers from the state of California into their network, the CargoNet analysis added.

Organized crime groups, whether stealing a part of a shipment or a whole shipment, are now switching license plates, driver’s licenses, and truck and trailer numbers between each pickup to combat growing reliance on publicly available FMCSA vehicle inspection data.

Multiple pickups are being arranged in multi-day crime sprees, and stolen shipments are being staged at central collection points so that malicious actors can focus on obtaining as many loads as possible before the industry learns of their criminal activity, CargoNet added.

Compared to Q3 2023, there has been a shift in targeted goods:

• Theft of solar panels, motor oils, and energy drinks are decreasing.
• Theft of footwear, computers, high-end audio systems, and hard liquor are increasing.

Looking toward the final quarter of 2024 and beyond, CargoNet expects strategic theft crews will continue to evolve to evade compliance checks.