Cargo theft activity down, but loss values keep rising
Cargo theft incidents were down 33% year over year in Q3, yet monetary losses were up. Also: Marijuana, cocaine seized from truck...
Cargo thieves in the third quarter of 2026 continued to favor targeting fewer high-value thefts rather than a higher number of lower-value commodities, according to a quarterly cargo theft analysis from Verisk CargoNet.
The firm recorded 547 supply chain crime incidents across the United States and Canada from July through September, a 33% decline from the same period in 2025 and a 19% decline from the second quarter.
Even with that decline, estimated losses for the quarter totaled $230.1 million, up 12% from $205.1 million in the third quarter of 2025. Verisk CargoNet
Despite the decrease in reported activity, fictitious pickups, which are generally described as incidents in which deception is used to obtain a shipment, remained close to last year’s level, accounting for 138 incidents in Q3, compared with 147 in 2025, raising their share of reported activity from 18% to approximately 25%.
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