Cargo theft losses across the United States and Canada surged to $304.6 million in the second quarter of 2024, more than doubling from the same period a year earlier, according to new data from Verisk CargoNet. The intelligence network documented 677 incidents during the quarter — a 26% decline in volume year over year — but the steep rise in dollar losses indicates that individual thefts are becoming substantially more costly. The trend aligns with a broader shift reported by logistics security analysts: rather than opportunistic thefts of unattended trailers, criminals are increasingly executing strategic, high-value pickups using stolen carrier identities and falsified brokerage credentials, driving up the average loss per incident.

The divergence between falling incident counts and escalating losses points to a deeper issue within the logistics industry. Observers believe the official figures drastically undercount the true scope of cargo crime. At a recent fraud summit, participants cited estimates suggesting that for every theft incident formally reported, roughly six additional incidents go unreported.

"There's some crazy stat that it's only a minority of incidents, so it's much bigger than I think the number that Verisk reported," one discussion participant said.

The underreporting dynamic is driven in part by carriers and shippers who prefer to resolve losses privately rather than generate public claims data. "If they can handle it themselves, they're not going to create, one, the press release around the data, and two, the noise," a co-host noted. Verisk's figures are drawn from official insurance claims, meaning self-handled losses fall outside the dataset entirely. The reluctance to disclose losses also reflects competitive concerns: publicized theft incidents can raise insurance premiums, deter customers, and attract regulatory scrutiny, creating incentives for companies to absorb losses quietly.

Copper held its position as the most targeted commodity for the second consecutive year, according to the CargoNet report. The persistent focus on copper reflects its high resale value and the relative ease with which it can be stripped, transported, and liquidated outside normal supply chain channels — a dynamic that has persisted even as metals prices have fluctuated, underscoring how deeply embedded copper theft networks are in secondary materials markets.

In a separate fraud case, a West Virginia man faces 15 criminal charges in connection with a scheme targeting Little Debbie snack deliveries. Authorities allege that James Powell forged invoices and signatures to fabricate deliveries to retail stores in Washington County, Pennsylvania, collecting commissions on freight that never actually moved. Distributor Stewart Snacks has since reimbursed affected retailers and the manufacturer.

Powell is currently undergoing extradition from West Virginia. All charges remain allegations at this stage. The case illustrates how invoice and signature fraud within distribution networks can go undetected long enough to require restitution across multiple levels of the supply chain. It also highlights a vulnerability that extends beyond high-value commodities: lower-margin freight such as snack deliveries can be exploited because commission-based compensation structures and decentralized delivery verification create gaps that paperwork fraud can fill.

The FreightWaves Today segment covering these developments, part of its recurring Fraud Watch series, is sponsored by Highway.

Source: FreightWaves