Freight Fraud Index · as of Q1 2026

Quantifying U.S. freight fraud

A source-first view of reported cargo theft and freight fraud affecting the U.S. freight system. CargoNet figures on this page cover the United States and Canada.

estimated losses from confirmed cargo thefts across the United States and Canada in 2025 (+60% year over year)
$725MSource: Verisk CargoNet

Coverage note: CargoNet figures reflect incidents reported to or recorded by CargoNet through its participating network across the United States and Canada. They do not represent every cargo-theft event occurring in either country.

Coverage source: Verisk CargoNet

What CargoNet recorded in 2025

CargoNet recorded 3,594 supply-chain crime events across the United States and Canada in 2025. Confirmed cargo thefts increased 18%, while estimated losses increased 60% to nearly $725 million.

CargoNet-recorded supply-chain crime events
3,594Source: Verisk CargoNet
Average value per confirmed cargo theft
$273,990Source: Verisk CargoNet
Cite this
Freight Fraud Index. (Q1 2026). CargoNet-recorded metrics — Q1 2026 (United States and Canada). Retrieved from https://freightfraudindex.com/m/2026-Q1
https://freightfraudindex.com/m/2026-Q1

Momentum

On the federal agenda

Cargo-theft fraud is now on the federal agenda. These recent policy and enforcement milestones show how quickly the issue has moved.

  1. SAFER Transport Act introduced (Senate)

    S.3950 (Sen. Young): would strengthen federal efforts to prevent, detect, and punish freight fraud and cargo theft.

    Source: U.S. Congress

  2. SAFER Transport Act introduced (House)

    H.R.8267 (Rep. Knott): companion bill directing DOT to establish a Freight Fraud & Theft Advisory Committee and a DOT–DOJ memorandum of understanding.

    Source: U.S. Congress

  3. FBI IC3 cargo-theft alert

    PSA I-043026-PSA, “Cyber-Enabled Strategic Cargo Theft Surging,” warns that actors impersonate carriers and brokers to reroute freight.

    Source: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center

  4. 2026 National Freight Strategic Plan

    USDOT releases the NFSP, naming freight fraud and cargo theft as a supply-chain security priority.

    Source: U.S. Department of Transportation

Trends

High reported activity and rising severity

Reported supply-chain crime activity remained near historically high levels in 2025. Within CargoNet’s recorded data, confirmed cargo thefts increased 18%, estimated losses increased 60%, and average theft value increased 36%. The figures indicate a continuing frequency problem alongside increasing severity.

Coverage note: CargoNet figures reflect incidents reported to or recorded by CargoNet through its participating network across the United States and Canada. They do not represent every cargo-theft event occurring in either country.

Coverage source: Verisk CargoNet

CargoNet-recorded supply-chain crime events

CargoNet-recorded supply-chain crime events
CargoNet-recorded supply-chain crime events
PeriodCargoNet-recorded supply-chain crime eventsSource
Q1 2025787Verisk CargoNet
Q2 2025884Verisk CargoNet
Q3 2025772Verisk CargoNet
Q4 2025Not availableNot available
Q1 2026767Verisk CargoNet
Quarterly source: Verisk CargoNetQuarterly source: Verisk CargoNetQuarterly source: Verisk CargoNetQuarterly source: Verisk CargoNet

Estimated losses from confirmed cargo thefts

Estimated losses from confirmed cargo thefts
Estimated losses from confirmed cargo thefts
PeriodEstimated losses from confirmed cargo theftsSource
Q1 2025$63.3MVerisk CargoNet
Q2 2025$128MVerisk CargoNet
Q3 2025$111.9MVerisk CargoNet
Q4 2025Not availableNot available
Q1 2026$131.6MVerisk CargoNet
Quarterly source: Verisk CargoNetQuarterly source: Verisk CargoNetQuarterly source: Verisk CargoNetQuarterly source: Verisk CargoNet

Average value per confirmed cargo theft

Average value per confirmed cargo theft
Average value per confirmed cargo theft
PeriodAverage value per confirmed cargo theftSource
Q1 2025$237.1KVerisk CargoNet
Q2 2025$203.6KVerisk CargoNet
Q3 2025$336.8KVerisk CargoNet
Q4 2025Not availableNot available
Q1 2026$220.8KVerisk CargoNet
Quarterly source: Verisk CargoNetQuarterly source: Verisk CargoNetQuarterly source: Verisk CargoNetQuarterly source: Verisk CargoNet

Q4 2025: No standalone CargoNet release. Shown as a gap, not derived. The null observation remains a visible break in each chart and data table.

Composition

What's being stolen

Food & beverage leads by volume; metals are surging on copper prices, and electronics and crypto-mining hardware are emerging targets.

  • Food & beverage708 thefts · +47%
  • Metals (copper-driven)+77%
  • Electronics & computing hardware · emerging target—
  • Crypto-mining equipment · emerging target—
Source: Verisk CargoNet

Geography

Where fraud concentrates

California dominates in absolute terms; several states posted sharp year-over-year jumps. CargoNet publishes only select states, so this is a ranked list rather than a full map.

  1. California1,218
  2. New Jersey+50% YoY
  3. Indiana+30% YoY
  4. Pennsylvania+24% YoY

CargoNet publishes only select states; figures are absolute counts or year-over-year change as released. A full 50-state map isn't shown because the underlying counts aren't published.

Source: Verisk CargoNet

At a glance

Key figures: Q1 2026

Calculated changes are shown vs Q3 2025, the previous displayed observation. They are not QoQ because Q4 2025 is missing.

CargoNet-recorded supply-chain crime events
767

−5vs Q3 2025

Source: Verisk CargoNet
Confirmed cargo thefts reported to CargoNet
596Source: Verisk CargoNet
Estimated losses from confirmed cargo thefts
$131.6M

+$19.7Mvs Q3 2025

$131,580,000

Source: Verisk CargoNet
Average value per confirmed cargo theft
$220,772

−$116Kvs Q3 2025

derived (loss ÷ confirmed thefts)

Source: Verisk CargoNet

CargoNet directly states that its recorded Q1 2026 event count declined 12.2% from Q4 2025. That publisher-reported comparison is attributed here, but it is not recalculated from this site’s incomplete quarterly series. Source: Verisk CargoNet

Context

Separately attributed context

These signals describe different populations and reporting systems. They are shown separately and are never added to CargoNet counts.

Strategic & impersonation fraud

  • CargoNet says criminal networks have largely settled on impersonating legitimate motor carriers and logistics brokers.
  • CargoNet expects impersonation-based fraud and exploitation of legitimate carrier identities to remain central to cargo-theft activity.
Source: Verisk CargoNet

What brokers report

  • 22% of brokers lost more than $200k to fraud in six months; 10% spent over $200k on prevention.
  • Unlawful brokerage is the top scam (34%); 97% say truckload freight is most fraud-prone.
  • TIA Watchdog logged more than 1,600 fraud reports (Sep 2024–Feb 2025), up 65%.
Source: Transportation Intermediaries Association

Carrier integrity

Authorities granted vs. revoked

FMCSA authority data shows a noisy operating backdrop: involuntary revocations run well above new grants. This is carrier-integrity context, not a fraud metric.

In Q1 2026, FMCSA involuntarily revoked operating authority from 34,073 carriers (about 2.3× the 15,093 newly granted), a gap that holds in every quarter shown.

New authority grants

New authority grants per quarter
New authority grants per quarter
PeriodNew authority grants per quarter
Q1 202415,519
Q2 202416,495
Q3 202415,807
Q4 202414,314
Q1 202514,165
Q2 202517,293
Q3 202516,093
Q4 202514,502
Q1 202615,093

Involuntary revocations

Involuntary revocations per quarter
Involuntary revocations per quarter
PeriodInvoluntary revocations per quarter
Q1 202434,659
Q2 202433,212
Q3 202434,872
Q4 202430,464
Q1 202533,660
Q2 202535,277
Q3 202534,668
Q4 202531,054
Q1 202634,073

Authority revocations happen for many reasons, including insurance lapse, safety, or non-payment, not only fraud. This is carrier-integrity context and not used in the Index score. Counts are grant and involuntary-revocation actions served (FMCSA Licensing & Insurance authority-history log, by served date). A carrier can appear more than once, and many involuntary revocations are later reinstated. This is gross authority activity, not net attrition, and is not netted against reinstatements. FMCSA's separate Revocation dataset, keyed on effective date, yields a somewhat different count. The current in-progress quarter is omitted.

Source: U.S. DOT / FMCSA

Open method

How the figures are interpreted

The methodology documents CargoNet coverage, metric definitions, reporting gaps, source metadata, and the quarantined experimental composite.

Read the full methodology

Built on data from

  • Verisk CargoNet
  • Transportation Intermediaries Association
  • FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center
  • U.S. Department of Transportation
  • U.S. Congress
  • U.S. DOT / FMCSA
  • U.S. DOT / Bureau of Transportation Statistics
View all sources with citations →

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