Breaking

Cargo Theft Losses Exceed $1M Annually for 40% of Supply Chain Leaders

Two in five loss prevention professionals report annual cargo theft damages surpassing $1 million, with 28% experiencing losses exceeding $2 million yearly. The findings come from a SmartSense by Digi survey conducted in August 2026 among security, logistics, risk management, and distribution professionals across companies ranging from under $10 million to more than $10 billion in annual revenue.

The research revealed escalating concern about organized criminal activity targeting freight networks. Seventy-nine percent of respondents expressed greater worry about cargo theft than previously, while 81% cited increasingly coordinated criminal operations. Additionally, 63% reported incidents increased compared with last year, and 80% indicated theft events caused lost sales within their organizations.

Fraudulent pickups and carrier impersonation emerged as the primary threat, cited by 78% of participants. GPS jamming or spoofing drew concern from 71%, followed by trailer theft at 66% and double brokering at 64%.

Cargo theft now extends beyond physical security concerns. Unauthorized access to transportation and logistics systems enables criminals to identify shipment contents, destinations, and arrival times—intelligence that helps them target specific loads. Scott Glenn, vice president of asset protection at The Home Depot, noted that companies must protect shipment data as seriously as the freight itself.

Companies are responding by increasing prevention spending, with 70% planning higher cargo security budgets.