Cargo security spans theft, load securement, inspection compliance and controls around drivers and hazardous materials. The figures below cover recorded global incidents in 2023, U.S. enforcement records for calendar years 2022–2024, and the three-day 2024 North American International Roadcheck.
Key Cargo Security Statistics
The most broadly useful cargo security figures include:
- 20% of recorded global cargo-theft incidents occurred at facilities in 2023, covering the BSI/TT Club global incident dataset.
- 14% of recorded global cargo-theft incidents involved vehicle theft in 2023, in the same global incident dataset.
- 13% of recorded global cargo-theft incidents involved theft from containers or trailers in 2023, based on recorded cases worldwide.
- 11% of recorded global cargo-theft incidents involved theft from vehicles in 2023, in the recorded global dataset.
- 11% of recorded global cargo-theft incidents were hijackings in 2023, according to the recorded global cases.
- Food and beverage theft rose from 16% of recorded stolen commodities in 2022 to 21% in 2023, globally in the recorded dataset.
- Electronics represented 10% of recorded stolen commodities in 2023, in the global incident dataset.
- A single August 2023 olive-oil theft in Cordoba involved 56 metric tons, according to the BSI/TT Club case study.
- The Cordoba olive-oil theft was valued at more than $540,000, for that single August 2023 incident.
- National U.S. records counted 1,067 loose-or-unfastened-tiedown violations in 2023, according to FMCSA.
- National U.S. records counted 624 loose-or-unfastened-tiedown violations in 2024, according to FMCSA.
- National U.S. records counted 283 cargo-not-immobilized-or-secured violations in 2022, according to FMCSA.
- CVSA conducted 48,761 commercial motor-vehicle inspections during the three-day 2024 International Roadcheck, across North America.
- Cargo securement accounted for 1,022 U.S. vehicle out-of-service violations during 2024 Roadcheck, equal to 8.8% of U.S. vehicle out-of-service violations.
- Roadcheck restricted 2,290 commercial motor-vehicle drivers from further travel for driver out-of-service violations in 2024, across North America.
- Hours-of-service violations made up 870 driver out-of-service violations, or 32.1%, during 2024 Roadcheck, in North America.
- North American Roadcheck inspectors recorded 163 hazardous-materials/dangerous-goods out-of-service violations in 2024, during the 72-hour event.
- Loading violations made up 60 of the 163 hazardous-materials/dangerous-goods out-of-service violations in 2024, or 36.8% of that event-specific category.
Contents
- Global cargo security theft patterns and incident types
- Cargo theft statistics by commodity and country
- High-value cargo theft losses and supply-chain exposure
- U.S. cargo securement enforcement statistics
- 2024 Roadcheck cargo security inspection statistics
- Hazardous-materials and driver-control statistics
Global Cargo Security Theft Patterns and Incident Types
The BSI and TT Club report describes shares of recorded incidents, not the percentage of all shipments or an exposure-adjusted probability. Its inputs combine partner, government, commercial, media and expert information, so the dataset is not a census of global theft.
In the 2023 global incident distribution, facility theft accounted for 20%, vehicle theft for 14%, theft from containers or trailers for 13%, theft from vehicles for 11%, hijacking for 11%, and theft of containers or trailers for 11%.
| Recorded incident category | Share, 2023 | Geography and definition |
|---|---|---|
| Theft from facilities | 20% | Global recorded incidents |
| Theft of vehicles | 14% | Global recorded incidents |
| Theft from containers or trailers | 13% | Global recorded incidents |
| Theft from vehicles | 11% | Global recorded incidents |
| Hijacking | 11% | Global recorded incidents |
| Theft of containers or trailers | 11% | Global recorded incidents |
| Employee belongings or truck parts | 8% | Global recorded incidents |
| Other | 12% | Residual category in the report |
The report’s modality chart places truck incidents at 71% of recorded 2023 incidents, compared with 23% for facility incidents and 6% for rail incidents. These are chart-based distributions and are not rates per truck, facility, shipment or rail movement.
Source: BSI and TT Club Cargo Theft Report: Global Cargo Theft Trends 2023.
Cargo Theft Statistics by Stolen Commodity and Country
Commodity shares show what appeared in recorded stolen-commodity observations during 2023. They should not be read as the value share of losses or as the theft risk for every commodity shipped globally.
| Recorded commodity | Share, 2023 | Geography and definition |
|---|---|---|
| Food and beverage | 21% | Global recorded stolen commodities |
| Agriculture | 10% | Global recorded stolen commodities |
| Electronics | 10% | Global recorded stolen commodities |
| Fuel | 8% | Global recorded stolen commodities |
| Metal | 7% | Global recorded stolen commodities |
| Automotive goods | 7% | Global recorded stolen commodities |
| Other commodities | 38% | Residual category |
Food and beverage theft rose from 16% in 2022 to 21% in 2023 within the recorded stolen-commodity observations. That year-over-year change can reflect both the incident mix and changes in reporting, rather than a measured rate across all cargo.
Brazil ranked third in the report’s 2023 cargo-theft country ranking. The ranking covers countries represented in the recorded global incident dataset, so it is a recorded-case ranking rather than a population-adjusted or shipment-adjusted rate.
Source: BSI and TT Club Cargo Theft Report: Global Cargo Theft Trends 2023.
High-Value Cargo Theft Losses and Supply-Chain Exposure
A single case can show why cargo security statistics need both physical quantities and monetary context. In August 2023, a theft of extra-virgin olive oil in Cordoba, Spain, involved 56 metric tons and was valued at more than $540,000.
The case study also reports that European olive-oil prices increased 75% from January 2021 to September 2023. That is a European market-price measure, not a cargo-theft measure, and the reported valuation is an approximate lower bound because it is stated as more than $540,000.
Spain produces more than 40% of the world’s olive oil, according to the report’s context, while Spain’s 2023 olive harvest was described as the second worst of the 21st century, behind 2012. Those figures describe production and agricultural context around the case, not an annual estimate of theft losses.
| Measure | Reported figure | Period and geography |
|---|---|---|
| Extra-virgin olive oil stolen | 56 metric tons | August 2023, Cordoba, Spain |
| Approximate incident value | More than $540,000 | August 2023, Cordoba, Spain |
| European olive-oil price increase | 75% | January 2021–September 2023, European market |
| Spain’s global olive-oil production share | More than 40% | Report context for 2023, Spain and global market |
| Spain harvest position | Second worst of the 21st century | 2023 harvest, Spain |
Source: BSI and TT Club Cargo Theft Report: Global Cargo Theft Trends 2023.
U.S. Cargo Securement Enforcement Statistics
FMCSA’s national table counts recorded traffic-enforcement violations by calendar year. These are cited violations, not the prevalence of unsecured loads among all U.S. shipments, and they should not be compared directly with the concentrated Roadcheck event shares below.
| FMCSA violation category | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loose or unfastened tiedown | — | 1,067 | 624 |
| Damaged securement system or tiedown | 633 | 636 | 345 |
| Inadequate or damaged securement device/system | 225 | 215 | 100 |
| Cargo not immobilized or secured | 283 | 247 | 133 |
The table distinguishes categories as presented in the national FMCSA records. A lower count in one calendar year is not, by itself, evidence of lower risk because enforcement volume, inspection selection and reporting conditions are not supplied as a common denominator.
Source: FMCSA Traffic Enforcement Violations: National Table.
2024 Roadcheck Cargo Security Inspection Statistics
The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance conducted 48,761 Level I, II, III and V inspections during the three-day 2024 International Roadcheck in North America. The event-specific breakdown was 29,342 Level I inspections, 10,098 Level II inspections, 8,303 Level III inspections and 1,018 Level V inspections.
| Inspection level | Count | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Level I | 29,342 | North America, 2024 Roadcheck |
| Level II | 10,098 | North America, 2024 Roadcheck |
| Level III | 8,303 | North America, 2024 Roadcheck |
| Level V | 1,018 | North America, 2024 Roadcheck |
| All listed levels | 48,761 | Three-day event, North America |
Cargo securement was the fifth-largest U.S. vehicle out-of-service category, with 1,022 violations and 8.8% of U.S. vehicle out-of-service violations during the event. Inspectors also identified 564 tractor-protection-system violations; that system protects air supply and is not a direct theft measure.
Source: CVSA Releases 2024 International Roadcheck Results.
Hazardous-Materials and Driver-Control Statistics
Roadcheck also provides a concentrated view of controls that can affect cargo continuity and security. Inspectors restricted 2,290 commercial motor-vehicle drivers from further travel for driver out-of-service violations during the 2024 event.
| Driver out-of-service category | Violations | Share of driver OOS violations |
|---|---|---|
| Hours of service | 870 | 32.1% |
| No commercial driver license | 688 | 25.4% |
| No medical card | 304 | 11.2% |
| False log | 297 | 10.9% |
| Suspended license | 138 | 5.1% |
Roadcheck recorded 78 drug-possession/use and 26 alcohol-possession/use out-of-service violations, plus 535 safety-belt violations. FMCSA, as cited by CVSA, estimates that 14% of commercial motor-vehicle drivers do not wear a safety belt in the United States; the cited passage does not provide the underlying survey design.
For hazardous materials and dangerous goods, inspectors recorded 163 out-of-service violations across North America during the 72-hour event. Loading violations accounted for 60, or 36.8%; placard violations for 43, or 26.4%; shipping-paper violations for 37, or 22.7%; bulk-package violations for 8, or 4.9%; and training-certification violations for 7, or 4.3%.
Inspectors also identified 63 U.S. drivers placed out of service for operating while listed in the FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. These are event-specific enforcement results, not estimates of the share of all drivers or loads affected.
Source: CVSA Releases 2024 International Roadcheck Results.
The Federal Maritime Commission has noted that cargo theft has no single complete national or global census, so frequency and financial impact cannot be quantified with certainty. Accordingly, the global incident shares, FMCSA calendar-year counts, single-case valuation and Roadcheck totals describe different populations and measurement systems rather than one combined cargo-security rate.