Cargo theft is measured through several different lenses: reported events, insurance claims and broader incident datasets. The figures below make those populations, periods and geographies explicit, so CargoNet, TT Club and BSI/TT Club results are not treated as one common denominator.
Key Cargo Theft Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- In 2023, CargoNet recorded 2,852 supply-chain risk events across the United States and Canada, up 59% year over year.
- In 2024, CargoNet recorded 3,625 incidents across the United States and Canada, 27% more than in 2023.
- In Q1 2024, CargoNet documented 925 incidents across the United States and Canada, up 46% from Q1 2023.
- In Q2 2024, CargoNet documented 771 theft incidents across the United States and Canada, up 33% from Q2 2023.
- In Q3 2024, CargoNet recorded 776 cargo-theft events across the United States and Canada, up 14% from Q3 2023.
- In 2023, 62% of CargoNet events involved theft of a full or partial shipment in the United States and Canada.
- In 2023, CargoNet estimated $331.9 million in stolen goods across its United States and Canada records.
- In 2024, the estimated average value per CargoNet theft was $202,364 across the United States and Canada.
- In Q1 2024, the average stolen-shipment value was $281,757 in CargoNet records across the United States and Canada.
- In 2023, California recorded 887 CargoNet events, the most of any state.
- In 2023, Texas recorded 319 CargoNet events, the second-highest state total.
- In TT Club’s 2024 global claims, the United States accounted for 41% of claims, compared with 30.4% in 2023.
- In TT Club’s 2024 global cargo-theft claims, electronics represented 15% of claims.
- In BSI/TT Club’s 2024 global incident dataset, trucks were involved in 76% of incidents.
- In BSI/TT Club’s 2024 global incident dataset, 41% of incidents occurred during transit.
- In 2023, CargoNet recorded 576 fictitious-pickup events across the United States and Canada.
- In 2023, associated identity-fraud complaints rose 438% year over year in CargoNet’s United States and Canada reporting.
- In TT Club’s 2024 global claims, deception or fraud tactics appeared in 33% of claims.
Contents
- Key Cargo Theft Statistics
- Recorded Cargo Theft Scale and Recent Trends
- Cargo Theft Losses and Shipment Values
- Cargo Theft by Quarter and Holiday Period
- Where Cargo Theft Occurs
- Cargo Theft by Commodity and Transport Mode
- Cargo Theft Methods, Fraud and Strategic Theft
Recorded Cargo Theft Scale and Recent Trends
CargoNet’s reported-event series shows a sharp increase in recorded supply-chain risk activity across the United States and Canada. These are CargoNet-recorded events, not a census of every theft.
| Period | CargoNet-recorded activity | Change or scope |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2,852 events | Up 59% year over year |
| 2024 | 3,625 incidents | Up 27% from 2023 |
| Q1 2024 | 925 incidents | Up 46% from Q1 2023; 10% from Q4 2023 |
| Q2 2024 | 771 theft incidents | Up 33% from Q2 2023 |
| Q3 2024 | 776 events | Up 14% from Q3 2023 |
| Q4 2024 | 94 more incidents than Q4 2023 | Up 11.81% year over year |
Sources: CargoNet 2023 Supply Chain Risk Trends Analysis, CargoNet 2024 Supply Chain Risk Trends Analysis, CargoNet Q1 2024 analysis, CargoNet Q2 2024 analysis, and CargoNet Q3 2024 analysis.
Every quarter of 2024 exceeded the corresponding 2023 CargoNet record, and Q1 2024 was the all-time high in the cited series. Q2 activity was 10% below Q1, while Q3 was 1.6% below Q2 before delayed-reporting adjustments; quarterly totals may be revised.
Cargo Theft Losses and Shipment Values
CargoNet’s 2023 analysis classified 62% of events as theft of a full or partial shipment across the United States and Canada. The same analysis estimated an average qualifying event value of $188,617 and total stolen goods worth $331.9 million; those are estimates based on reported events and declared or modeled values.
The annual estimate for the average value per theft rose from $187,895 in 2023 to $202,364 in 2024. CargoNet notes that the two 2023 summaries use different event/value groupings, so the figures should be read as source-specific estimates rather than reconciled totals.
Quarterly values varied substantially:
- CargoNet estimated the Q1 2024 average stolen-shipment value at $281,757; declared shipment values totaled $76 million, while the estimated total reached $154.6 million after extrapolating average values to events without declarations.
- The Q2 2024 average shipment value was $150,711, and CargoNet estimated $68.5 million in freight stolen.
- The value of goods stolen in Q3 2024 exceeded $39 million in CargoNet’s records.
Sources: CargoNet 2023 analysis, CargoNet 2024 analysis, Q1 2024 analysis, Q2 2024 analysis, and Q3 2024 analysis.
A separate CargoNet holiday subsample found an average cargo value of $151,726 per event across five Labor Day periods through 2023. That holiday estimate is not an annual average or a substitute for the broader loss estimates.
Cargo Theft by Quarter and Holiday Period
Holiday timing is a distinct measurement window in CargoNet’s United States analysis. Its five-year Christmas/New Year review covered 261 theft events from December 23 through January 2.
| Holiday measure | Result | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Average per year, 2019–2021 | 43 events | United States holiday period |
| 2022 holiday period | 59 events | December 23–January 2 |
| 2023 holiday period | 73 events | December 23–January 2 |
| Most frequent pooled dates | 31 events each | December 27 and December 29 across five periods |
The reported holiday-period count rose from an average of 43 events per year in 2019–2021 to 59 in 2022 and 73 in 2023. Dates are pooled across five holiday periods, so they do not represent one calendar year’s daily distribution.
Source: CargoNet holiday trends analysis.
State-level quarterly changes also differed. California incidents rose 72% year over year in Q1 2024, Illinois incidents rose 126%, and Texas incidents rose 22%; CargoNet’s annual 2024 analysis reported California up 33% and Texas up 39% for the full year.
Where Cargo Theft Occurs: States, Countries and Locations
CargoNet’s 2023 state totals identify California and Texas as the largest recorded concentrations in its United States and Canada dataset.
| Location | 2023 or 2024 result | Measure |
|---|---|---|
| California | 887 events in 2023 | Highest state total |
| Texas | 319 events in 2023 | Second-highest state total |
| Illinois | 88 fraud events in 2023 | Highest state or province fraud total |
| Dallas County, Texas | 78% increase in 2024 | Year-over-year incidents |
California and Texas together accounted for 1,206 recorded CargoNet events in 2023, a sum of the two reported state counts rather than a national share. CargoNet incidents are not all crime reports.
Source: CargoNet 2023 analysis and CargoNet 2024 analysis.
TT Club provides a different geographic lens: shares of its global cargo-theft claims. The United States represented 41% of claims in 2024, up from 30.4% in 2023, while the United Kingdom represented 7.5%, Italy 6%, Germany 5%, Spain 5% and France 3% in 2024.
Source: TT Club cargo theft claims in 2024.
These percentages describe TT Club’s claims portfolio, not a global incident census, and should not be combined with CargoNet event counts in one denominator.
Cargo Theft by Commodity and Transport Mode
TT Club’s 2024 global claims and the BSI/TT Club global incident dataset measure related but different populations. The claims data emphasizes reported claims, while the incident dataset combines partner, law-enforcement, commercial and open-source reports.
| Category | Share | Dataset and period |
|---|---|---|
| Electronics | 15% of claims | TT Club global claims, 2024 |
| Food and beverage | 12% of claims | TT Club global claims, 2024 |
| Metals | 7.5% of claims | TT Club global claims, 2024 |
| Clothing | 7% of claims | TT Club global claims, 2024 |
| Vehicles and parts | 7% of claims | TT Club global claims, 2024 |
| Food and drink | 22% of incidents | BSI/TT Club global incidents, 2024 |
| Agricultural goods | 10% of incidents | BSI/TT Club global incidents, 2024 |
| Electronics | 9% of incidents | BSI/TT Club global incidents, 2024 |
| Fuel | 7% of incidents | BSI/TT Club global incidents, 2024 |
Within TT Club’s claims portfolio, food and drink’s share fell from 27.1% in 2023 to 12% in 2024. That change is a within-portfolio comparison, not evidence that the same proportion of all global theft changed.
BSI/TT Club reported trucks in 76% of 2024 global incidents. It classified 41% of incidents as occurring during transit and 21% as linked to warehouses.
Sources: TT Club cargo theft claims in 2024 and Global Cargo Theft Trends 2024.
Cargo Theft Methods, Fraud and Strategic Theft Statistics
Strategic theft and fraud can remove cargo without a conventional forced-entry scenario. CargoNet recorded 576 fictitious-pickup events in 2023 across the United States and Canada, above its average of 66 per year since 2012.
The same CargoNet analysis reported a 438% year-over-year increase in associated identity-fraud complaints in 2023. Complaints are not the same as confirmed theft incidents, and fictitious pickup is CargoNet’s strategic-theft category.
Texas-specific measures also changed in 2023:
- Theft of an unattended vehicle and/or cargo increased 40% from 2022 to 2023.
- Texas recorded 56 more fictitious pickups in 2023 than in 2022.
Source: CargoNet 2023 Supply Chain Risk Trends Analysis.
The BSI/TT Club 2024 global incident dataset classified strategic theft as 18% of United States incidents. In TT Club’s 2024 global claims, deception or fraud tactics appeared in 33% of claims, a subcontractor’s identity was reported stolen in 18%, and insider threat was suspected in 10%; these categories can overlap, and suspected insider involvement is not necessarily proven.
Sources: Global Cargo Theft Trends 2024 and TT Club cargo theft claims in 2024.