The Airforwarders Association (AfA) is stepping up its efforts to secure stronger federal action against organised cargo theft in the United States. Following the recent midterm elections, the association is calling on the US House of Representatives to ensure that the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA) becomes part of the final Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

As Congress resumes its work in Washington, D.C., the freight forwarding and logistics industries are pressing lawmakers to address the growing threat posed by organised criminal networks targeting cargo movements and supply chains.

Adopted annually, the NDAA establishes the United States' defence and broader spending priorities. It also provides lawmakers with an opportunity to advance important bipartisan legislation that might otherwise struggle to progress through the conventional legislative process.

For the AfA and industry representatives, this makes the defence authorisation bill the most immediate and practical route to securing CORCA's adoption. The proposed legislation has already demonstrated substantial political backing, having passed the House of Representatives in May by an overwhelming vote of 348 to 60.

The association considers this support a clear indication that tackling organised cargo crime is an issue capable of bringing both sides of the political spectrum together.

“Congress has already shown overwhelming bipartisan support for tackling organized cargo crime, and the job now is to turn that support into law,” said Steve Smith, Chief Executive Officer of the Airforwarders Association.

He stressed that freight forwarders are increasingly confronted with criminal organisations operating across state boundaries and taking advantage of gaps between law enforcement jurisdictions. According to Smith, continued cooperation between Republicans and Democrats is essential to provide investigators and legitimate businesses with the resources needed to identify and dismantle these networks.

A dedicated federal coordination centre

If enacted, CORCA would establish an Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center within Homeland Security Investigations. Its role would be to improve intelligence exchange and strengthen cooperation between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, while also creating closer links with private-sector stakeholders.

Such a structure would provide a more coordinated response to criminal activity affecting the retail and logistics sectors, particularly where investigations involve multiple jurisdictions.

The need for this approach has become increasingly apparent as cargo theft has changed in both scale and sophistication. Freight forwarding companies have faced a more challenging security environment over recent years, with criminal operations moving well beyond conventional opportunistic theft.

Organised groups are now exploiting digital vulnerabilities and using increasingly elaborate methods to obtain freight illegally. These include fraudulent collection arrangements, impersonation of legitimate carriers and sophisticated identity fraud.

The consequences extend across the logistics industry. Beyond the direct financial losses suffered by freight operators, these activities can interrupt supply chain operations, undermine business confidence and increase the overall cost of global trade.

AfA strengthens its engagement with lawmakers

The association has spent the past year bringing these concerns directly to policymakers on Capitol Hill. Its advocacy programme has included meetings with congressional offices, support for the wider coalition campaigning for CORCA and opportunities for members to explain how organised cargo theft affects their businesses.

These exchanges have helped demonstrate how criminal networks exploit weaknesses in commercial operations, as well as the practical consequences for companies dealing with fraudulent transactions, compromised shipments and operational disruptions.

A central part of this work is carried out through the AfA's Cargo Theft Committee. The committee brings together industry members to exchange intelligence, assess vulnerabilities within supply chains and develop practical responses to the growing problem of freight-related crime across the country.

For David King of AB&M Logistics, who chairs the committee, the increasing sophistication of criminal activity makes closer cooperation with law enforcement particularly important.

“Forwarders are seeing how sophisticated these crimes have become and how difficult they can be to investigate when activity crosses jurisdictions,” he said.

King highlighted the industry's ability to contribute valuable information about criminal activity on the ground, while emphasising that law enforcement agencies must also have the capacity to act on that intelligence.

He added that CORCA could provide an important opportunity to improve coordination and establish a stronger federal partnership for legitimate businesses confronting organised cargo crime.

NDAA remains the industry’s immediate legislative priority

The Airforwarders Association has confirmed that it will continue to work with lawmakers from both political parties and the coalition partners behind the legislation as talks continue over the final version of the FY2027 NDAA.

For freight forwarders and other logistics stakeholders, getting CORCA included in the defense authorization bill would be an important step toward enhanced cargo security in the United States.

The proposed legislation would go beyond addressing individual incidents of theft and instead aim to strengthen the federal response to criminal networks that threaten the reliability of both domestic and international supply chains.

“AfA’s position is clear: the bipartisan support already shown in the House must now be translated into legislation that can better coordinate public authorities and the private sector.”