Cargo theft is up in 2025, according to a new report from theft prevention firm Overhaul.
Overhaul’s US Cargo Theft Report found a total of recorded 525 thefts for the second quarter of the year, marking a 33% increase over the same time last year.
The biggest target categories were Electronics and Food & Drinks. Here’s what else to know from the new report.
Cargo Thefts Are Up 33% From 2024
The total amount of incidents in the second quarter of the year only marks a 4% increase from the first quarter, which means that cargo shipments have been attracting higher numbers of thieves across all of 2025 so far.
The total amount of thefts will likely rise even higher for the remaining part of the year, since the holiday season typically sees boosts in the economic activity that gives thieves more opportunities to strike.
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According to the Overhaul report, Cargo theft in the US “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 1st and 2nd in terms of cargo theft risk.”
When Do Thefts Happen?
Other interesting takeaways from the report include the revelation that cargo theft incidents are now happening more often on Wednesdays, a day which accounts for 18% of incidents, compared to Tuesday (16%) or Mondays and Fridays (each 17%).
In the first quarter of 2025, Monday stood out as the most frequent pick for opportunistic thieves, who were presumably getting a jump on their week.
The incidents were also “more evenly spread throughout the day” when compared to past quarterly reports, Overhaul found.
Another interesting tidbit? Three product categories were much less frequently stolen in Q2, compared to both the same quarter last year and the earlier quarter this year: Personal Care saw a theft rate of 4%, a 31% decrease from Q1-2025, while Pharmaceuticals reported a 2% theft rate, and the Tobacco theft rate was just 1%.
Stolen Shipments Are Just One More Problem for Logistics Companies
The higher levels of theft aren’t entirely unsurprising: Inflation and recession concerns are squeezing everyone.
Unfortunately, that’s just why logistics companies are even less likely to be able to weather an increase in stolen shipments, which add additional stress to their already-thin bottom lines.
Logistics companies already have other big problems, from tariff increases to the ongoing driver shortage. We’ve suggested some tech solutions in the past that can help, but ultimately, cargo thieves are one more problem that transportation and delivery services will be continuing to deal with for a long time to come.
