Q3 Cargo Thefts Up; Averages 87.6 Incidents per Month
FreightWatch recorded 263 cargo theft incidents from July to September, showing a marked increase in cargo theft activity over the previous quarters this year
FreightWatch recorded 263 cargo theft incidents from July to September, showing a marked increase in cargo theft activity over the previous quarters this year.
With 73 thefts recorded in July, 110 in August and 80 in September, the quarter has an average of 87.6 thefts per month and 76.2 thefts per month year to date.
The top five states for cargo theft from July to September were California (75), Florida (38), Texas (31), New Jersey (26), and Georgia (17).
From all thefts recorded from July to September, 78% were theft of trailers; 79% of those thefts occurred at unsecured parking lots and 6% at secured parking lots.
Food/Drinks, Electronics and Building/Industrial were the most targeted product types accounting for 21%, 18% and 15% of all cargo theft respectively.
By day of the week, Saturday, Sunday and Monday were the days with the highest cargo theft activity during the time period under study.
There were five thefts this quarter in excess of $1 million from building/industrial (2), electronics, miscellaneous and consumer care product types.
To download this report in its entirety, click here.
More Safety & Compliance

A Camera Isn't a Safety Program. Here's What Brokers Are Screening for Now
Footage alone may not be enough to pass broker vetting processes. Here's what counts as a defensible safety program now.
Read More →
Marijuana and Trucking’s Drug-Testing Dilemma
Marijuana is getting stronger, laws are changing, and drug tests still can’t reliably establish impairment. What does that mean for truck drivers and the fleets that employ them?
Read More →
PrePass, Kodiak Connect Driverless Trucks to Roadside Enforcement
The system will allow enforcement agencies to verify Enhanced Inspection information and decide whether Kodiak’s autonomous trucks can bypass roadside screening sites.
Read More →
From One Generation to the Next: How Mentorship Builds Safer Truck Drivers
After three decades in trucking, Harold Perry shares what he's learned about driver safety, mentorship, and helping the next generation build confidence behind the wheel.
Read More →
FMCSA Pauses Biennial-Update Enforcement Amid Motus Transition
Carriers whose updates were due on or after June 1 have more time, while FMCSA works to stabilize its new registration system and warns of phishing sites impersonating its new carrier registration system, Motus.
Read More →
ZF Expands Commercial Vehicle Push in North America
ZF is expanding its North American commercial-vehicle presence with new transmission applications, electrification, trailer technology and autonomous-driving systems.
Read More →
Truck Drivers Need More Than Another Alert
Fleets have more visibility into truck health, safety events, and driver activity than ever. The next challenge is turning all that information into useful guidance for the person who has to decide what to do next.
Read More →
Tesla Wants a Self-Driving Semi. Are Cameras Enough?
Could Tesla’s camera-only autonomous driving technology work on an 80,000-pound Semi? In this commentary, HDT's Deborah Lockridge takes a look at Tesla, Cybercab, and how autonomous trucks see the road.
Read More →
What DOT’s Automated Vehicle Strategy Means for Trucking
The U.S. Department of Transportation issued a new automated-vehicle strategy that outlines plans for driverless-truck regulations, cross-state freight corridors, and federal safety standards.
Read More →
NYC Expands Speed, Pedestrian Safety Tech Across Fleet
New York City is expanding intelligent speed assistance and pedestrian-alert systems across its municipal fleet, moving the technologies from pilot programs into vehicle procurement and retrofit requirements.
Read More →

