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Trucking-Backed Cargo Theft Bills Move to Michigan Senate
Legislation Would Allow Consecutive Prison Sentences of Up to 10 Years
Key Takeaways:
- Michigan House bills would allow prosecutors to seek up to 10 additional years in prison for certain cargo theft convictions.
- The measures are supported by trucking groups citing organized theft and significant financial losses to small carriers.
- The bills passed the House and are now in the Senate Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
Two companion bills intended to deter cargo theft by imposing higher criminal penalties are moving through the Michigan Legislature.
Under the trucker-backed proposed laws, anyone convicted of cargo theft could face an additional prison sentence up to 10 years.
State representatives passed House Bills 5125 and 5126 on March 10. They moved to the Senate and were referred March 17, and currently sit in the Senate Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
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“International criminal networks have identified Michigan as a prime target for cargo theft, and law enforcement needs stronger tools to fight back. This plan increases penalties for cargo theft so we can bring the full force of our justice system against anyone targeting Michigan businesses or consumers,” said state Rep. Mike Harris, who sponsored HB5125.
Especially in Detroit and surrounding Wayne County, the state has experienced a boom in cargo theft from railcars and storage facilities linked “specifically to criminal activity tied to international gangs,” a Michigan House Republicans statement said.
HB5125 aims to revamp the Michigan Penal Code so prosecutors can seek tougher prison sentencing by adding up to 10 years for larceny involving stolen cargo. If the enhanced sentence is imposed, it must be applied consecutively (not concurrently) to any prison term given for another violation handed down in the same judicial transaction.
“Cargo theft isn’t a crime of opportunity,” Harris said. “Breaking into railcars or shipping containers to steal vehicles or high-value goods requires planning, coordination and organized criminal support. Treating these crimes the same as ordinary theft fails to recognize their scale and complexity.”
HB5126 cannot take effect without the Legislature approving the other bill.
Sponsored by Rep. Steve Frisbie, HB5126 would amend criminal sentencing guidelines to classify cargo theft as a Class D property felony with a maximum 10 years’ imprisonment upon conviction.
Trucking Backs Both Proposals
During a Feb. 25 House Judiciary Committee hearing, Frisbie urged the bills be passed.
“In an age when supply chains are the backbone of so many businesses, we must ensure we can do everything within our power to protect them,” he said. “This is not petty theft. These are organized groups that are stealing entire cargo loads of trailers. They’ll steal the trailer. They’ll empty a train car. It’s very organized, and that’s what we’re after.”
CEO Jill Sokacz joined MTA board member Ashley Kordish of in testifying on behalf of the proposals.
Sokacz said that nationally, cargo theft losses are about $18 million a day, which equates to about $521,000 annually per trucking company.
“Most Michigan carriers are small family-owned businesses,” she said, “They are working hard to make a living, and they can’t absorb that kind of cost day after day annually. Ultimately, it’s passed on to the consumer.”
She noted an instance in which one member’s truck was stolen with a load of pickles and later recovered in Florida filled with bottled water to deliver.
Kordish, a third-generation leader of her family-owned trucking company, told lawmakers her company runs 60 trucks.
Two Similar Thefts
The company has experienced two similar types of cargo thefts within the past year in which thieves decided her loads weren’t high-value targets. However, she sustained losses from spoiled cargo that was unsellable and an insurance deductible of $75,000 per incident.
“We had a driver that was parked for the night. Somebody got into the back of our trailer, cut open the seal and looked inside and decided flour wasn’t worth stealing. Nobody would take it. It was compromised at that point, so it was $25,000 out of our pocket for a load of our flour,” Kordish said.
The second similar incident involved a $75,000 load of meat that the thieves decided wasn’t worth taking — that also couldn’t be sold. Both losses and insurance costs are harming her profitability.
“As part of the trucking industry, we are part of an industry that is struggling. We are historically not a high-profit-margin industry,” Kordish said. “Last year, my company had a pretty good year and we lost $100,000. That $100,000 would have pushed me into breaking even or maybe even making a little bit of money. I am just one of many, many companies dealing with this.”
Kaitlyn Holmecki, director of international trade and security policy at American Trucking Associations, also encouraged lawmakers to pass the bills.
