Verisk: Cargo Theft Losses Hit $304M on Organized Crime Cyber Schemes

Organized crime continues to strong arm the cargo industry, as estimated losses more than doubled to $304.6 million while theft incidents across the U.S. and Canada fell 26% year over year.

A report from Verisk CargoNet points to organized theft groups increasingly targeted high-value shipments with cyber tactics like business email compromise.

The losses for the second quarter were up from $135.7 million for the same period a year earlier. The average value among thefts with a reported commodity value reached $564,009 in the second quarter, a figure that was driven up by a small number of extreme, multimillion-dollar losses, the analysis shows.

The report identified 677 supply chain theft incidents across the North America in the second quarter. That was a 26% decline from 2025 and a 14% drop from the previous quarter.

According to Verisk, the decline was partly driven by fewer non-delivery schemes in which thieves acquired existing motor carriers, booked shipments and picked up freight with no intent to deliver it. Verisk also recorded fewer organized thefts of unattended, loaded trailers and ocean containers.

Related: Report: Cargo Theft Down for Quarter, But Criminals Are Getting More Savvy

Business email compromise continues to be the primary access point for most sophisticated cargo theft schemes, which gain access to shipment information, communications, contacts and transportation management tools to identify high-value shipments, impersonate trusted parties and alter shipment details while appearing legitimate, according to Verisk.

“Verisk CargoNet continues to see organized groups expand what they can obtain from a single compromised account, turning access to one business system into access to several parts of the shipment process,” the report states.

Metal theft rose to 80 incidents in the second quarter from 54 incidents in from the same period a year earlier. Copper was the most frequently targeted metal, but thefts of aluminum, nickel, tungsten and other specialized industrial metals also increased, according to the report.

Organized thieves also continued to target “enterprise-grade computer and networking equipment,” components and cryptocurrency mining hardware that may be worth several million dollars but are frequently moved as conventional dry freight, the report shows.

Food and beverage theft declined. Thefts involving alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and mixed grocery products fell by 36 events, but seafood thefts rose by 11 events. The report also shows decreases in thefts of auto parts and tires.

The top three targeted states were California, Texas and New Jersey, which represented 50% of all thefts in the quarter. The top targeted locations were warehouse/distribution centers and truck stops, according to the report.