Cargo theft has settled into a “new normal” for the trucking industry, Scott Cornell, executive vice president and crime and theft specialist at SPG Cargo & Logistics, chairman of the Transported Asset Protection Association, and FFPH Partner, told attendees at a panel on Oct. 20, 2026, during the American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference & Exhibition in Charlotte, N.C., according to Transport Topics.
Cornell described criminal networks, some operating from outside the U.S., that combine physical theft with fraud. He said strategic theft, which relies on deception such as identity theft and double brokering, rose 1,475% from 2021 to 2024, and cited nearly 3,600 reported cargo thefts in 2025 with about $724 million in declared value, a figure he said understates the full economic cost. He called training frontline staff the most effective step companies can take, said brokers should verify carriers and that shippers and warehouses should confirm the driver and truck at the dock are authorized for the load, and urged digitized shipping records that show who changed a delivery location or schedule and when.
Alex Rosen, ATA’s senior vice president of legislative affairs, pointed to the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (H.R. 2853 and S. 1404), which she said would create a central Department of Homeland Security repository for supply chain theft and fraud reporting, backed by a coalition of more than 200 industry partners. The House passed H.R. 2853 on May 12, 2026, by a 348-60 vote, and Transport Topics reported that ATA is also working to include the bill’s provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act. For carriers, brokers and shippers, the panel underscored that verification at booking and at the dock remains a frontline defense while federal coordination is debated.
