Fracht theft exceeds 13% in the second quarter, organized crime is aimed at high valuable goods

In the United States and Canada, freight theft incidents rose by 13%in the second quarter of 2025.

CARGONET recorded 884 events of the Supply -chain -theft between April and June and marked an increase of 10%in the first quarter of 2025. The estimated total loss exceeded $ 128 million, when the average shipping values for cases in which specific losses were not reported were taken into account. The average stolen shipping value reached $ 203,586.

The data show that theft activity was accelerated in the course of the quarter. The incidents rose by 14.6%in April, 4.4%in May and June by 21.9%.

Strategic freight theft

Metal theft recorded the most dramatic increase and almost doubled to 53 incidents with an increase of 96% compared to the previous year. Cargonet links this spike with copper trade near Record Highs, which indicates that groups for organized crime adapt the goals based on the requirements and conditions of the raw material market.

Food and beverage products also remained a main theft category with 180 reported incidents – an increase of 68% compared to the second quarter of 2024. The category now corresponds to over 20% of all freight theft. Meat, energy potions and alcoholic beverages are among the most frequently stolen objects.

“The strategic targeting of specific raw materials shows the business approach of modern freight theft,” said Keith Lewis, Vice President of the company at Cargonet. “These are not opportunistic crimes are calculated operations that aim at goods with the highest illegal value and the simplest resale potential.”

Cargonet also warns that complex theft programs that contain document fraud and identity theft are becoming increasingly common. These crimes are carried out demanding and often by international groups for organized crime in order to deal with the current efforts against the beach, the press release says.

“Traditional physical security measures alone are no longer sufficient,” said Lewis. “The industry has to pursue a multi-layered approach that combines physical security, digital review and exchange of real-time intelligence in order to combat these developing threats.”