An alert issued by the CTPAT Program earlier this year notified Members of a significant surge in cargo theft across the United States, along with notable changes in theft tactics. These developments mirror trends observed regionally and globally, underscoring a rapidly evolving threat environment with material implications for supply chain security and resilience.
Impact of Cargo Theft
Globally, cargo crime has reached unprecedented levels. Data from the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) indicate that approximately 157,000 cargo crime incidents were recorded across 129 countries between 2022 and 2024, with reported losses exceeding €2.7 billion. Importantly, loss values were reported in fewer than 6% of cases, suggesting that the true financial and operational impact on global supply chains is considerably higher.
In the United States, recent trends reveal a concerning paradox: while overall incident volumes have declined, financial losses remain elevated. Verisk CargoNet reported 767 supply chain crime events in Q1 2026, a 5.3% decrease year over year; however, estimated losses reached $131.6 million, essentially unchanged from Q1 2025. This follows 2025, when annual cargo theft losses surged by nearly 60% to approximately $725 million nationwide.
This disconnect reflects the changing nature of cargo theft. Opportunistic, small‑scale theft – once concentrated along major freight corridors such as Texas and the Southeast –has declined. In its place, organized crime networks have emerged as the dominant threat, executing fewer but more deliberate, higher‑value thefts that amplify overall losses.
Commodities and Methods Under Attack
Commodity targeting continues to evolve alongside criminal tactics. In Q1 2026 across the United States and Canada, food and beverage remained the most targeted category, though the composition shifted: seafood theft rose sharply, while beverage theft declined. At the same time, personal care and beauty products increased by nearly 180% year over year, driven largely by cosmetics and fragrances that are easy to resell through online marketplaces and difficult to trace.
From a tactics perspective, strategic cargo theft and freight fraud now pose the greatest risk to supply chains. CTPAT’s reporting highlights the widespread use of double‑brokering schemes, fictitious pickups, stolen load board credentials, and cyber‑enabled impersonation. These crimes are often executed without physical confrontation, allowing criminals to exploit trust-based processes and delaying detection until cargo is unrecoverable.
Risks to Supply Chain Security
The convergence of global and U.S. trends reveals several systemic risks to supply chain security:
- Digital vulnerability surpassing physical security – While fences, seals, and GPS remain important, compromised credentials, phishing attacks, and identity fraud increasingly enable theft before cargo ever moves.
- Expanded geographic risk – Theft is no longer confined to ports, rail yards, or traditional hot spots. Organized groups operate flexibly across regions, targeting lanes with weak verification and fragmented oversight.
- Insider and third‑party exposure – Criminals exploit trusted relationships, subcontracting layers, and insufficient carrier vetting to infiltrate legitimate supply chains.
- Operational and reputational damage – Beyond direct financial loss, theft disrupts delivery schedules, erodes customer trust, increases insurance costs, and heightens regulatory scrutiny.
Conclusion
The CTPAT Program has outlined security procedures and best practices to address the surge in cargo theft, reinforcing the importance of proactive risk management. While CTPAT supply chain security efforts have traditionally focused on threats outside the United States, we strongly encourage Members to apply these same principles domestically. In particular, leveraging training, communication, and incident‑reporting mechanisms can help ensure employees and business partners remain aware of evolving threats and emerging criminal tactics – strengthening overall supply chain resilience in an increasingly complex risk environment.
