GLENDALE, Ariz. — Cargo theft is no longer just a physical security problem with theft rising 60 percent in 2025.
According to Michael Fisk, vice president of Roadmaster Group and a senior leader at Tri-State Motor Transit Co., the most dangerous freight thieves today don’t break into trailers. Thieves impersonate legitimate carriers, forge shipping documents, and walk away with loads worth hundreds of thousands of dollars before anyone realizes something is wrong.
The shift is backed by data. According to Verisk CargoNet, estimated cargo theft losses in the United States and Canada surged to nearly $725 million in 2025. The average value per theft rose 36 percent to $273,990, driven by organized criminal networks deliberately shifting away from smash-and-grab tactics toward identity fraud and document forgery.
Cargo Theft Goes High-Tech
“What we’re seeing is a fundamental change in how cargo theft works,” Fisk said. “It used to be about opportunity. A driver leaves a trailer unattended, and someone breaks the lock. That still happens, but the organized groups are doing something far more sophisticated. They’re hacking into freight brokerage systems, generating fake bills of lading, putting the right decals on a truck, and showing up at a shipper’s dock with the correct pickup number. Unless that shipper has protocols specifically designed to catch impersonation, they’ll hand over the freight without ever knowing it’s gone to the wrong truck.”
The Vulnerability Most Carriers Overlook
Fisk identifies standard locks and seals as the single most pervasive security gap in the industry, not because shippers and carriers don’t know they exist, but because they underestimate how easily they are defeated.
“The lock on most trailers is not a serious deterrent to a professional criminal,” Fisk said. “It’s a signal. It tells a thief how serious you are about what’s inside. Standard locks and seals can be defeated in seconds. Most fleets haven’t upgraded because they’ve never had to. The organized groups targeting high-value freight have figured that out.”
Tri-State’s response goes beyond the lock itself. The company uses specialized locks designed to cinch trailer doors together rather than securing a single latch point, and requires drivers to back trailers against walls or docks whenever stopped, physically blocking door access without moving the vehicle.
What Serious Shippers Should Be Looking For
- Specialized locking systems that cinch trailer doors together, rather than standard padlocks that secure a single point.
- Satellite tracking is independent of cell coverage, so a load cannot go dark in areas where thieves tend to divert freight.
- Real-time cargo door monitoring, with immediate alerts the moment a trailer is opened outside an authorized location.
- Direct verification protocols for every pickup, requiring a call to a known, pre-verified contact rather than relying on email, text or caller ID, all of which can be spoofed.
- Driver vetting that includes security clearance requirements for carriers handling government or sensitive commercial freight.
“Most shippers don’t think about this until something goes wrong,” Fisk said. “By then it’s too late. The time to ask a carrier how they handle impersonation attempts and what happens if a load goes off-route is before you tender the freight, not after.”
The Summer Shipping Season Elevates Risk
Cargo theft spikes around major holidays, when reduced staffing and freight sitting in yards overnight create conditions organized criminal networks exploit deliberately. According to CargoNet, Labor Day and the November to December stretch represent the highest-risk windows of the second half of the year.
“Summer is not the time to relax your freight security posture,” Fisk said. “It’s the time to tighten it. Every long weekend is an opportunity for a criminal group that has already done its reconnaissance. The freight doesn’t move. The oversight does.”
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
