Cargo theft is an increasing financial and operational challenge for supply chain professionals. According to a SmartSense survey of loss prevention leaders, 40 percent said they suffer annual losses of at least $1 million. Another 28% said their organizations pay more than $2 million annually in costs related to stolen freight.
They come from SmartSense by Digi’s Cargo Theft Report, released on Thursday after research by Coleman Parkes in August 2026. The survey included 150 loss prevention and organized retail crime professionals in the United States. Their duties include security, logistics, risk management, distribution and organized retail crime prevention.
The companies included in the research span a broad range of sizes, from companies with under $10 million in annual revenue to those with more than $10 billion.
The survey indicates a threat that is not just becoming more expensive but also more coordinated. Some 79% of respondents said they are more concerned about cargo theft today than ever before, while 81% believe that these crimes have become more organized in recent years.
At the same time, 63% said cargo theft incidents were up from last year. The commercial implications are also clear: 80% said that theft incidents had led to lost sales for their organizations.
Fraudulent pickups and carrier impersonation are the biggest concerns.
Loss prevention professionals are identifying risks miles beyond the classic theft of a parked trailer.
The biggest problems in the survey were fraudulent pickups and impersonation of carriers, cited by 78 percent of respondents. Next was GPS jamming or spoofing at 71 percent, and trailer theft, at 66 percent. Double brokering also ranked high on the list of concerns for 64% of surveyed respondents.
Another vulnerability created by the growing digitalization of freight operations is the information held within transportation and logistics systems, said Scott Glenn, vise president of asset protection at The Home Depot.
That means a criminal who breaks into those systems could learn what a shipment contains, where it is going and when it is expected to arrive. Such information can help thieves to identify particular loads and perhaps target them more effectively.
“Cargo theft is becoming as much a cybersecurity issue as a physical security issue,” Glenn said. Unauthorized access to transportation or logistics systems could allow criminals to learn what’s being shipped, where cargo is headed and when it should arrive,” he said.
“So the protection of shipment information is as important as the protection of the physical freight itself,” says Glenn.
Security spending creeps up
The growing threat also affects corporate security budgets.
SmartSense’s research revealed that 70% of respondents said their organizations plan to increase their spending on cargo theft prevention this year.
One of the technologies and capabilities that were thought to potentially make the biggest difference was real-time location visibility. Data analysis was also highlighted as a key tool, particularly for identifying recurring theft patterns and routes with higher risks.
“Forward-moving companies are beginning to focus more on what they can do with the information they gather rather than simply improving visibility,” said SmartSense by Digi President Guy Yehiav.
“The companies that are making the most progress are going from visibility to actionability,” Yehiav said.
Monitoring systems can identify a range of warning signs, such as route deviations and unauthorized stops. Fast detection of these changes can buy security teams more time to investigate and respond before a shipment is gone.
The reporting challenge continues
The study also points to a discrepancy between the number of cargo theft incidents companies face and the degree to which those incidents are passed on to law enforcement.
Just 37% of respondents said their organizations regularly report cargo theft incidents to authorities and work with investigators.
SmartSense said the number of reported thefts may be an underestimate of the true scale of the problem. But the survey does not give an indication of how many incidents go unreported in official reporting systems.
The results indicate that cargo theft is increasingly driven by a combination of physical security weaknesses, fraudulent identities, compromised information and technology-enabled tactics.
Why it matters
Cargo theft isn’t just about physically stealing the freight. The threat landscape includes identity fraud, carrier impersonation, digital access, GPS interference and manipulation of transportation processes.
For freight and logistics professionals, understanding the tactics that are generating the most concern among loss prevention leaders can help identify where controls in place may be vulnerable and where additional verification, monitoring and response capabilities may be needed.
CFCO
But employees must know how criminals are taking advantage of vulnerabilities in freight processes, although technology can enhance cargo security. The Certified Fraud Compliance Officer course is built on structured verification and risk-based decision making throughout the freight transaction.
Training teams to validate companies, people and shipment information can help spot inconsistencies before cargo moves. No single technology or training program can prevent cargo theft, but consistent verification procedures can reduce opportunities created by preventable gaps in operational processes.
