The short answer: cargo theft is the taking of freight while it is in the supply chain, from the shipper's dock to the receiver's door. That includes the hours a loaded trailer sits in a yard or at a truck stop. It shows up in two very different ways. Someone opens the doors and takes the goods, or someone tricks a shipper or broker into handing the load over. Which one you are up against decides what will stop it.
How is cargo theft defined?#
The FBI began tracking cargo theft as its own crime category after Congress required it in the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005. Its definition covers the criminal taking of any commercial shipment of freight from trucks, trailers, railcars, intermodal containers and chassis, warehouses, distribution centers, pipelines, vessels and aircraft.
One line in it matters most to a carrier. The FBI treats cargo as moving in commerce at every point between origin and final destination, regardless of any temporary stop. A loaded trailer parked for the weekend is still freight in transit. So is a container waiting on a chassis at a rail ramp.
The FBI uses that definition to count crime. The federal charge usually comes from 18 U.S.C. § 659. It makes it a crime to steal, or get by fraud, goods that are part of an interstate or foreign shipment from a truck, trailer, railcar, warehouse or similar place, and to buy or keep those goods knowing they were stolen. The maximum is 10 years in prison, or 3 years if the goods are worth less than $1,000. Every state has its own theft laws on top of that.
What are the main types of cargo theft?#
Sort them by how the thief ends up with the freight. Either they take it, or somebody gives it to them.
| Type | How it happens | Does a door lock help? |
|---|---|---|
| Pilferage | Thieves open a parked trailer or container and take part of the load. Often nobody knows until the receiver counts it. | Yes. This is the threat a door lock is for. |
| Full truckload theft | A thief hooks a tractor to a loaded trailer and pulls away, or takes the whole truck. | Not the hookup. A king pin or gladhand lock blocks that. If the trailer is taken, the doors still have to be opened wherever it ends up, and that buys time for recovery. |
| Facility theft | Theft from a warehouse, yard or distribution center, by outsiders or by people with access. | Partly. It covers loaded trailers and containers parked on site, not goods inside the building. |
| Fictitious pickup | Someone posing as the booked carrier shows up at the dock and is handed the load. | No. The doors are opened on purpose. |
| Double brokering | A carrier, or a fake one, accepts a load and quietly brokers it again to another carrier. The freight can disappear, or the truck that hauled it never gets paid. | No. It is fraud on paper. |
| Carrier identity theft | Criminals use a real carrier's DOT and MC numbers, email or phone to book loads, or change delivery instructions after pickup. | No. Verification stops it. |
General descriptions. The share of each type changes every quarter.
Overhaul's count for Q2 2026 put pilferage at 46% of reported U.S. thefts and full truckload theft at 21%, with facility theft and deceptive pickups behind them. The full breakdown, with losses and states, is on our cargo theft statistics page.
What is the difference between cargo theft and freight fraud?#
Freight fraud is cargo theft done with email, phones and paperwork instead of bolt cutters. The goods still end up gone. What changes is who catches it.
Fraud gets stopped in the office. Call carriers back on a number you already had, look up the MC and DOT numbers in FMCSA's records for recent contact changes, and treat any last minute change to a pickup or payment that arrives by email as suspect. Physical theft gets stopped in the yard and at the doors. A fleet can be sharp on one and wide open on the other. Our prevention guide walks through the fraud checks.
The fraud side keeps moving. Verisk CargoNet's Labor Day analysis, published in September 2026, described criminals getting into carrier logins, email, business phone lines and compliance accounts, then changing delivery instructions after a real carrier already had the load. In that version the truck, the driver and the paperwork are all real. Only the destination is not.
Why does pilferage get less attention?#
It is quiet. A stolen trailer gets a police report the same day. A trailer that shows up short six pallets turns into a shortage claim and an argument about where it happened, and sometimes no report at all.
The national numbers reflect that. Reporting cargo theft to the FBI is voluntary for police agencies, and many states don't take part. The FBI's 2019 cargo theft report counted 721 incidents from 184 agencies. Of the $139.7 million stolen in those incidents, 2.8% was recovered. Most of today's picture comes from CargoNet and Overhaul, and their counts depend on victims choosing to report.
For a carrier, the doors are the piece of this they control. A trailer that cannot be opened in the yard cannot be pilfered in the yard.
Which types of cargo theft can a lock stop?#
Only the physical ones, and only at the doors. A door lock answers pilferage and the parked trailer side of facility theft. It does not stop a thief who hooks up the whole trailer, though the doors still have to be beaten wherever that trailer ends up. It does nothing about a fake carrier who is handed the freight at the dock.
VaultX is an internal lock for shipping containers and 53 foot van trailers. It mounts inside and locks the doors from within, so there is no outside lock to cut or pry. You run it with a wireless remote or the Bluetooth app, and it comes off in minutes once the load is delivered. To date, no VaultX lock has been defeated or broken into.
It does not replace a king pin lock. It does not replace calling a carrier back before you release a load. Use all three.
What should you do if your cargo is stolen?#
Move fast, and report it where it happened.
- Call the police agency closest to where the freight was taken. Travelers, a large cargo insurer, notes that police near your headquarters may not have jurisdiction. If it is still happening, call 911.
- Give them the identifiers. Make, model, VIN, plate and serial number for the tractor and trailer, and the chassis plate and container number for intermodal loads, so the equipment can go into the National Crime Information Center. Add the bill of lading, a description of the cargo, serial or batch numbers, the last known location and any tracking data.
- Notify your cargo insurer inside the window your policy sets.
- Report it to CargoNet. You do not need to be a member. When the details are solid and timely, CargoNet sends a theft alert to law enforcement during business hours. Its line is 1 888 595 2638.
- Tell the shipper or broker before they hear it from someone else.
Keep those identifiers on file for every unit before anything happens. Hunting for a trailer VIN at 2 a.m. costs hours you do not get back.
Frequently asked questions#
Is cargo theft a federal crime?
Yes, when the goods are part of an interstate or foreign shipment. Under 18 U.S.C. § 659 the maximum is 10 years in prison, or 3 years if the goods are worth less than $1,000. States can charge it too.
Does a trailer parked at a truck stop count as cargo in transit?
Yes. The FBI's definition treats freight as moving in commerce at every point from origin to final destination, including temporary stops.
What is a fictitious pickup?
A thief poses as the booked carrier, often after getting into a broker's or carrier's email, and the shipper hands over the load at the dock.
What is the most common type of cargo theft?
Pilferage, at 46% of reported U.S. thefts in Q2 2026 (Overhaul).
Who do I report cargo theft to?
The police agency nearest to where it happened, your cargo insurer, and CargoNet. Then tell the shipper or broker.
Sources#
- FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, Cargo Theft 2019Published 2020 · last checked
- 18 U.S.C. § 659, via Cornell Legal Information InstituteCurrent text · last checked
- Verisk CargoNet Labor Day analysis, via FreightWavesPublished Sep 7, 2026 · last checked
- Overhaul Q2 2026 report, via FreightWavesPublished Aug 28, 2026 · last checked
- Travelers, Cargo theft reportingUndated · last checked
- CargoNet, Report a theftUndated · last checked