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[ Cargo crime data, 2025 ]
Cargo theft statistics, 2025.
US cargo theft losses reached an estimated $725 million in 2025, up roughly 60 percent in a single year. The full-year picture, drawn from Verisk CargoNet data, and what it means for the people who move the freight.
[ 01 / The 2025 numbers ]
Cargo theft in 2025, by the numbers.
Four figures that define the year. Each is an estimate from Verisk CargoNet's full-year cargo theft data.
$725M
Estimated US losses, 2025
+60%
Increase year over year
$274K
Average loss per event
3,600
Crime events recorded
Across the supply chain, confirmed theft rose by roughly 18 percent, and the average loss per event climbed about 36 percent. The number of events and the cost of each one went up together.
| US cargo theft losses | ~$725M |
|---|---|
| Increase year over year | ~+60% |
| Recorded crime events | ~3,600 |
| Confirmed theft increase | ~+18% |
| Average loss per event | ~$274K |
| Increase in average loss | ~+36% |
| California + Texas share | ~58% of US total |
| Most-targeted freight | Food and beverage, metals, electronics |
| Fastest-growing category | Strategic theft |
Source: Verisk CargoNet, 2025 full-year US cargo theft data. Figures are estimates.
[ 02 / The shift ]
Strategic theft is leading the increase.
The shape of the threat changed as much as the size. The fastest-growing category is strategic cargo theft: fictitious pickups, double brokering, and carrier identity theft, where the load is handed over with permission to someone the shipper never actually verified.
That shift matters for prevention. It means the locks and seals that defend against a break-in do nothing against a thief who arrives with paperwork that looks correct. The growth in losses is concentrated in exactly this kind of paper-based deception.
[ 03 / Targets and geography ]
What is targeted, and where.
Food and beverage
The most-hit category, year after year. High value, fast to move, hard to trace.
Metals
Copper and other commodities priced for an easy, anonymous resale.
Electronics, solar, and EV
The fastest-growing share, tracking demand for chips, panels, and battery components.
The theft is geographically concentrated. Two states, California and Texas, accounted for around 58 percent of the national total, a reflection of the port volume, freight density, and interstate corridors they carry.
[ 04 / From data to defense ]
What the numbers mean for prevention.
No single control is enough against a threat this size and this varied. Cargo theft prevention works as a layered defense, where each layer covers the gap the one before it leaves open.
Vet before tender
Every carrier and driver verified against authoritative records before a load is handed over.
Driver & carrier vettingWatch in transit
Geofence and route-deviation alerts the moment a load leaves its lane, read 24/7 by a staffed floor.
See the GSOCRecover and document
Former law-enforcement investigators lead recovery with court- and insurer-ready evidence.
Investigation and recovery[ Source ]
Source
Figures are estimates drawn from Verisk CargoNet's 2025 full-year US cargo theft data. Values are rounded and stated as approximate. Cargo theft is widely under-reported, so totals reflect recorded events and should be read as a floor, not a ceiling.
Last updated June 2026. OpSec Intel refreshes this page as new full-year data is published.
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