Fewer Cargo Thefts, Twice the Losses

Cargo theft is changing shape across North America, and the latest numbers are worth a closer look.

Verisk CargoNet recorded 677 cargo theft incidents in the United States and Canada during the second quarter of 2026, a 26% drop year over year and a 14% drop from Q1.

Estimated losses went the other way. They climbed to US$304.6 million, more than double the US$135.7 million recorded in Q2 2025. The average reported loss reached US$564,009, inflated by a handful of multi-million-dollar hits.

The difference is in the target. Organized crime is going after high-value freight, mainly metals and business IT equipment. Metal thefts rose from 54 incidents to 80 year over year, with copper the most frequently targeted. Keith Lewis, vice-president of operations at Verisk CargoNet, cautions that fewer incidents does not mean less risk.

The Canadian picture

In Canada, theft volume is going up. Équité Association estimates that the number of trailers stolen in Canada rose from roughly 570 in 2024 to close to 970 in 2025, nearly double in a single year. Worth noting that the two pictures do not cover the same window: the CargoNet figures are for Q2 2026, the Équité figures for all of 2025.

Ontario recorded 1,601 thefts in 2025 across tractors, trailers and cargo combined, with the Peel Region and the Greater Toronto Area accounting for a large share. Quebec recorded roughly 180.

On one point, though, the two pictures agree: what gets stolen is recovered less and less. Recovery rates are falling, meaning the share of stolen goods eventually found, even empty or damaged. The national cargo rate fell from 13% in 2024 to 9% in 2025, and the trailer rate from 64% to 44%. Équité also believes a significant share of cargo thefts go unreported, which puts the real scale of the problem past the published figures.

The methods have moved on

Stealing a trailer from a rest stop is no longer the most common method. Criminal organizations now infiltrate supply chains directly. They pose as carriers or brokers, use stolen identities and break into email accounts to redirect shipments before anyone notices.

Physical thefts of loaded equipment declined sharply in Q2, but schemes that run through compromised accounts, such as business email fraud and shipment misdirection, held steady. These attacks are administrative as much as physical, and they scale in a way yard thefts never did.

What it means for fleets

A fleet manager tracking incident counts alone is likely to feel reassured too early. The real picture sits elsewhere: in what each load is worth, and in how solid your checks are before someone drives off with it.

Three questions worth asking this week.

Who vetted the carrier? An email and a business number prove nothing. Verification means calling the company back at the number on its official file, never the one in the email signature.

What happens when details change mid-job? A new delivery address or a billing change requested by email deserves a confirmation call. Every time, even when it looks routine.

Who checks identity at the dock? The driver who shows up should match the file: right name, right load number, ID in hand.

That leaves the question of what is inside. Loads differ in what they are worth, and your checks can differ the same way. A copper or electronics run earns a confirmation call that nobody will make for a skid of office supplies. Few fleets have the staff to scrutinize everything equally, and none should have to. Rank your loads by value, and put the verification time where a mistake would cost the most.

Fewer Cargo Thefts, Twice the Losses

The Canadian picture

The methods have moved on

What it means for fleets

Sources

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