On April 29th, the House Transportation & Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials held a roundtable “Combatting Cargo Theft: Stakeholder Perspectives.” Representatives from across the logistics industry including railroads, labor, trucking, insurance, and retail discussed the current rising trends in cargo theft. In particular, there has been a rise in sophisticated interstate and multinational criminal efforts, causing witnesses to call for a more coordinated federal response to the issue.

This roundtable built upon the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, Freight, Pipelines, and Safety’s February hearing on cargo theft.  

Witness List 

• The Honorable Rodney Davis, United States Chamber of Commerce 

• Ian Jeffries, President, Association of American Railroads 

• Eddie Strom, President Local 28, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen 

• Bob Costello, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President for International Trade and Security, American Trucking Association 

• Anne Reinke, President and Chief Executive Officer, Intermodal Association of North America 

• David Johnston, Vice President of Asset Protection & Retail Operations, National Retail Federation 

• Scott Cornell, National Practice Leader, Transportation Travelers Inland Marine Crime and Theft Specialist Office, Traveler’s Insurance 

The Current State of Cargo Theft 

While cargo theft has been a problem since the 1800s, in the past few years, rates of cargo theft have significantly grown, becoming an unavoidable problem for those in the freight industry. The convergence of criminals exploiting weaknesses in security, infrastructure, and law enforcement along freight routes and the increased capabilities of new technologies for more sophisticated criminal activities have drastically increased rates of cargo theft.  

Costello cited a 1500% increase in cargo theft since 2021, and subcommittee chairman Daniel Webster (R-FL)  cited that railroads saw a 40% increase in cargo theft last year resulting in a $35 billion cost to the economy and supply chains. As other forms of crime are seeing decreasing rates, retail crime has seen a 24% increase in 2024 with increased levels of sophistication.  

One of the fastest growing trends in cargo theft has been the increase in strategic theft, moving from 3% to 33% of all cargo theft. Strategic theft occurs when domestic or transnational criminals use advanced cyber tactics to pose as carriers or brokers to get cargo directly delivered to them. Mr. Cornell emphasized how strategic cargo theft enables players, especially those higher up in criminal organizations, to commit theft remotely, making their capture even more difficult. Criminal organizations are also utilizing drones to remotely track freight travel and identify vulnerable portions of the supply chain. Stolen goods sold on domestic and international resell markets are utilized by some organizations to fund other criminal activities, making cargo theft a linkage within larger crime networks. 

Risk Areas 

Traditional on-site cargo theft typically occurred in areas with high population densities and economic activities with access to ports, arterial highways, or rail. The top ten states for freight theft are California, Texas, Illinois, Arizona, New Jersey, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Ohio, and Florida. In 2024 California saw a 72% increase in retail theft and its neighboring states have also experienced increases. With the rise of strategic theft, crimes have spread into more remote locations that are less prepared to handle these events.  

People across the supply chain have been placed at risk including truckers, railroads, retailers, manufacturers, and ports. Cargo theft places logistics workers and those in communities around ports, arterial highways, or rail under risk. Theft also increases the cost of goods to consumers and businesses due to lost merchandise and the increased expense of security measures. Reinke highlighted how members of the Intermodal Association of North America have lost their businesses due to cargo theft. 

Deterrence Efforts  

Witnesses highlighted on the ground deterrence measures including physical barriers, increased police presence, and investment in technology such as telematics to harden cargo security. The group also discussed the importance of increasing the cost of cargo theft for potential criminals through aggregated prosecutions.  

In cases of theft, goods are most likely to be retrieved if the police are notified within 30 minutes of their removal. However, Reinke emphasized that many carriers do not have the capabilities to recognize removals within these frames. For both preventive measures and increased response rates to theft, she highlighted technological measures including door sensors and RFID technology to track container inventory and movements.  

Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) mentioned legislative efforts to increase the usage of telematics on rail, allowing suppliers to track the health of railways and have real time information about their goods. While insurance providers encourage clients to utilize telematics to prevent theft, Cornell warned that they are not a perfect solution as thieves regularly suppress tracking efforts including by painting over camera devices and removing sensors.  

Storm criticized railroads for not doing more to protect workers and goods from cargo theft, stating that increased train lengths and decreased rail staffing have increased vulnerabilities. He discussed how crew members have faced situations in which they are unable to safely defend their cargo against being overtaken by armed gangs. He also raised concerns about the frequency of container doors being left open. While physical fences have been put up by some urban railroads as a deterrent, they delay rather than completely prevent these situations from occurring. Ian Jeffries disagreed that there was correlation between increased train length and increased theft but agreed that the general lack of deterrence for cargo theft is placing workers in dangerous situations.  

Verification 

The influx of strategic cargo theft not only requires carriers to conduct on-site deterrence but also increases requirements for validation of supply chain actors and communications. Costello suggested that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) continues to update its registration system for greater assurance that goods are being transported between verified entities, especially in the context of the increasing sophistication of cargo cybercrime. She also emphasized the importance of FMCSA utilizing its authorities to penalize and block perpetuators. Rodney Davis (who was a member of the T&I Committee until he retirement two years ago) pointed to the Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers Act (INFORM), enacted by Congress in 2023, which requires disclosures of online seller information as an example of legislation pushing for greater supply chain transparency but emphasized the need for more efforts for verification of all actors across the supply chain.  

Increasing Enforcement  

Witnesses highlighted how low levels of prosecutions result in low levels of deterrence for cargo theft. Reinke emphasized how low rates of repercussions create a high reward, low risk scenario for criminals who have the potential to make upwards of $25,000 a week on cargo theft. In some cases, individuals have been arrested multiple times but have not faced prosecution. Costello highlighted examples of trucking companies who report theft to law enforcement and have been told to turn to insurance as a solution instead of continued legal investigation.  

Members and witnesses also discussed state level legislative efforts to address cargo theft. In 2024 California passed 12 state laws addressing retail and cargo theft. Davis said that in the coming months the state will need to evaluate the effectiveness of these legislative efforts in reducing the state’s 72% increase in retail theft in 2024 but emphasized that these efforts will ultimately not be successful without federal efforts to eliminate current gaps. Rep. Vince Fong (R-CA) emphasized how Title 18 of California’s Proposition 47 enables prosecutors to aggregate cases when there are multiple thefts and victims, enabling for more effective prosecution of criminal organizations and repeat offenders. Jeffries said that federal language is needed to ensure federal prosecutors emulate this aggregation of cases at an interstate level.  

Mr. Johnston spoke in favor of “The Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA) Act of 2025” to help dismantle criminal networks by increasing resources for enforcement and strengthening penalties. He shared that 94% of surveyed retailers in the National Retail Federation thought federal legislation is the appropriate next step to address this issue. Reinke emphasized that the CORCA will help to ensure that laws which already exist are adequately enforced. Jeffries added that even with updating federal language through CORCA and the “Household Goods Shipping Consumer Protection Act,” there will still be a need for federal prosecutors to prioritize addressing cargo theft. Storm also suggested states adopt language similar to a bill passed in Arizona making the assault of transportation workers a felony. 

Reporting and Data Sharing Issues 

Witnesses expressed concerns about disintegrated reporting efforts across state and local jurisdictions. The way in which cargo theft is reported varies across jurisdictions and even varies by police officer, leading to difficulties in accurate data collection and underreporting of regional and national trends in cargo theft. Information is also not adequately being shared across jurisdictional borders. Some companies have historically been nervous to report cargo theft as they may lose consumers. However, as the problem has continued to worsen, industry members are becoming more open about their experiences. Johnston shared that while data sharing efforts between the private and public sector have been helpful for local investigative units, many still are lacking the data to adequately address the level of organized crime the cargo industry is facing. Reinke cited data sharing between the private and public sectors in the transportation industry in the post-9/11 period as an example of effective collaboration and information to enhance transportation safety.  

In the Combatting Retail Crime Act there is a focus on information sharing and universal data standards. The group agreed that having more accurate, shared data and consistent reporting measures will ensure that criminal organizations that have committed multiple acts of theft are properly prosecuted.  

Conclusion  

Citing the interstate and international nature of cargo theft, along with the current low levels of prosecution of the crime, both witnesses and Representatives at the roundtable emphasized the need for a more coordinated federal response. While local and state efforts could be augmented, they are ultimately limited due to resource restrictions and jurisdictional problems. Davis suggested that T&I Committee members should lead efforts to identify gaps in the enforcement and prevention nexus to pinpoint the federal response. Representatives emphasized how the connection of cargo theft to supply crimes and multinational crime organizations threatens the U.S.’ economic and national security in addition to the more localized impacts of cargo theft on workers, businesses, and neighboring communities.