Criminals are stealing freight at a record pace. Now, several states are passing new laws to stop them.
Every day, truckers across the U.S. lose about $18 million worth of goods to cargo theft, according to the American Transportation Research Institute. A new report from supply chain security company Overhaul found that in early 2026, freight was being stolen at nearly 7 times per day.
One of the fastest-growing categories of crime: auto parts. Theft of auto and parts loads jumped 142% compared to the last three months of 2025, and was up 51% from a year earlier — the sharpest increase among all tracked product categories
The “Fake Pickup” Problem
The most common type of cargo theft is still pilferage — thieves quietly stealing small amounts of goods, often from warehouses or truck stops. But a newer, more sophisticated scam is growing fast.
So-called “deceptive pickup” schemes — where criminals pretend to be real trucking companies or freight brokers — increased 35% year over year and now make up 10% of all recorded cargo theft incidents. These scams involve forged credentials, fake identities, and carrier impersonation to pick up legitimate loads. Nearly half of these incidents happened in California.
What States Are Doing
Lawmakers in several states have had enough and are acting:
Arkansas declared cargo theft an emergency, with its state legislature calling it “a pervasive problem” that harms businesses and consumers, requiring immediate measures to protect the state economy and public safety.
Tennessee just passed a new law that defines fraudulent freight theft as theft under state law. The law takes effect July 1. Tennessee is one of the hardest-hit states — it led the country in pilferage with a 37% share of those incidents, and most stolen goods in the state during early 2026 were pharmaceuticals, electronics, and food and drinks.
California and Arizona are working on bills that would create special task forces led by their attorneys general. Arizona’s proposed task force would bring together federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to investigate cargo theft and work with industry leaders on prevention plans.
As one Arizona trucking official put it: “Cargo theft is a rising issue in our industry. It is now a very sophisticated international crime issue, and Arizona is a hotspot.”
Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, and South Carolina are also exploring similar legislation.
Why It Matters
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association says tougher cargo theft laws are long overdue and are meant to protect the truck drivers and businesses that keep the economy moving. The push at the state level comes as the U.S. House has also approved a bill to break up organized theft networks nationwide. The bottom line: cargo crime is no longer just someone grabbing a box off a truck. It’s organized, international, and growing — and governments at every level are scrambling to catch up.
