Fewer Cargo Thefts, Bigger Losses: Average Theft Value Jumps 72 Percent Year to Date
Key Highlights
- ➤Q3 incidents 547, down 33% year over year and 19% sequentially
- ➤Q3 estimated losses $230.1 million, up 12% year over year
- ➤Year-to-date losses $718.9 million, up 39% despite incidents falling 25%
- ➤Average stolen commodity value $448,456, up approximately 72% year to date
- ➤Nineteen Q3 thefts exceeded $1 million, versus nine a year earlier
Expert Statements
Keith Lewis, Vice president of operations at Verisk CargoNet
“We saw mixed results in the third quarter with a decline in reported incidents and fictitious pickups remaining close to last year’s level, but the estimated financial impact grew significantly”
Keith Lewis, Vice president of operations at Verisk CargoNet
“Understanding cargo theft requires looking beyond incident counts and focusing on broader trends, like what is being stolen and where theft is concentrated.”
Keith Lewis, Vice president of operations at Verisk CargoNet
“We’re seeing criminals combine digital deception with traditional theft tactics to identify, intercept and redirect high-value shipments. Data center materials are among the valuable commodities attracting attention. As the value of the cargo being targeted increases, strong identity verification, shipment visibility and communication across the supply chain become even more important.”
Key Takeaways * Verisk CargoNet recorded 547 supply chain crime incidents in Q3 2026, down 33 percent year over year and 19 percent from the previous quarter. * Fictitious pickups declined just 6 percent and accounted for approximately one-quarter of reported incidents, up from 18 percent a year earlier. * Estimated losses totaled $230.1 million in Q3 and $718.9 million through September, a 39 percent increase from the same period last year. * Nineteen thefts with documented values of $1 million or more were reported in Q3 2026, compared with nine in Q3 2025, with many involving high-value electronics and data center materials. * Food and beverage remained the leading commodity category, while metals declined only slightly and cosmetics incidents increased. * California, Illinois, New Jersey and Texas accounted for 57 percent of quarterly incidents. JERSEY CITY, N.J., Nov. 04, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Verisk (Nasdaq: VRSK), a leading data analytics and technology provider to the global insurance industry, today released its third-quarter cargo theft analysis, showing a sharp decline in reported supply chain crime but a growing financial toll from theft.
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