Cargo thieves boosted 33% more freight than a year ago: Report
www.overdriveonline.com, August 12, 2025
Trucking news and briefs for Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025:
- Cargo theft incidents keep rising in prevalence: in the second quarter, up 4% over Q1 and 33% over Q2 last year.
- The Greenlane company plans two electric-commercial-truck charging corridors -- LA to Las Vegas along I-15, and LA to Phoenix along I-10.
- A truck driver from South Carolina will serve 17.5 years in prison for transporting a minor across state lines to engage in sexual conduct.
Overhaul: Cargo theft just keeps getting worse
Cargo theft recording and prevention firm Overhaul’s U.S. Cargo Theft Report for the second quarter of 2025 reported a total of 525 cargo theft incidents in Q2, representing a slight increase of 4% compared to Q1 but a significant increase of 33% compared to the second quarter of 2024.
Historically, the second quarter has shown varying trends in cargo theft risk, Overhaul noted. In 2023, there was a reduction in theft incidents compared to the first quarter, but in 2024 Q2 showed slightly higher levels than Q1, indicating that the risk remained stable.
A similar pattern was observed for 2025. Regardless, with Q2 in the rear view the riskiest period of the year has arrived. The second half of any given year typically sees an increase in economic and logistics activities -- and consequently in criminal activities, too.
The distribution of theft incidents in the second quarter of 2025 was fairly even with 32% in April, 34% in May, and 33% in June.
In the first half of 2025, cargo theft in the United States increased by 10% compared to the same period in 2024, a rise slightly below early-year projections.
Looking ahead, Overhaul expects theft patterns fairly similar to what was observed in 2023 and 2024, when theft activity began to climb as early as July. The firm expects at least a 15% increase in cargo theft incidents.
Overhaul also reported that cargo theft in the U.S. continues to show higher incidence near freight hubs and large cities, leading to hot spots in states such as California (38%) and Texas (21%), which ranked first and second in terms of cargo theft risk. Product categories most at risk included Food & Drinks (accounting for 16% of Q2 recorded thefts) as well as Electronics (16%), followed by Home & Garden (13%).
Notably among product types, metals thefts increased most significantly -- 92% over and above Q1 2025, and 84% above Q2 2024. Within this product type, 43% of thefts took place in California.
Cash thefts increased 51% and 236% over Q1 2025 and Q2 2024, respectively. Thefts within the category also took place primarily in Pennsylvania, which concentrated 55% of all hijacking events against armored trucks with cash in transit.
News article: https://www.overdriveonline.com/life/article/15752848/cargo-theft-soars-in-q2-up-a-third-over-2024