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Strategic cargo theft is growing not only in scope but also in complexity. (shironosov/Getty Images)

PHOENIX — Strategic cargo theft is growing not only in scope but also in complexity as criminals continuously adjust their tactics and devise schemes that are harder for motor carriers, freight brokers and shippers to detect and prevent.

Logistics industry leaders discussed how strategic theft methods are evolving and offered advice on safeguarding freight during an April 17 panel discussion at the Transportation Intermediaries Association’s 2026 Capital Ideas Conference.

“We’ve always seen the bad guys adjust to what the industry does in prevention,” said Scott Cornell, national transportation practice leader and crime and theft specialist at insurance provider Travelers Inland Marine.

One emerging method involves an organized crew getting one of its members hired as a driver at a legitimate carrier to circumvent industry vetting processes, which typically focus on the qualifications and reputation of the motor carrier rather than the individual driver.

From there, the thief drives for that carrier until assigned a valuable load that the crew wants to steal. When that opportunity arises, the thief parks somewhere and goes to the truck stop or visits friends or family while other crew members physically steal the cargo.

“They make people believe that there was no deception involved here, that the driver just left the load unattended and then they physically stole it,” Cornell said. “Everybody leaves it thinking that it’s a straight theft, when in essence it’s actually a strategic theft.”

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From left: Cornell,��Heldenbrand,��Renner and��Johnson discuss cargo theft during the April 17 panel. (Seth Clevenger/Transport Topics)

Most likely, the trucking company will then play into the hands of the criminals’ plan by firing the driver for leaving the load unattended or taking an unscheduled break, he said. “That allows that bad guy to then move on to the next company.”

This form of strategic theft isn’t commonplace but has begun to appear more frequently in recent months, Cornell said.

“They pressure test these new methods, and then when they get it nailed down and they get the nuances dialed in on these, they hammer you with them,” he said.

Cornell Heldenbrand, vice president of security at J.B. Hunt Transport Services, said he’s seen at least one instance of this cargo theft tactic in the past year, which involved a new driver at a reputable carrier.

“They ran one load for this customer, and it went fine,” he said. “The very next load they picked up, they drove to a truck stop a few miles away, dropped it off and went to watch wrestling in Mexico for the weekend.”

One way to protect against this method is to require carriers to assign high-target or high-risk loads only to drivers who have been with the company for a certain duration, Heldenbrand said. He suggested six months as an appropriate tenure.

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A more established cargo theft method that has been plaguing the transportation industry for several years involves the sale and purchase of the motor carrier numbers assigned to for-hire carriers by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

“There’s an entire cottage industry that’s been created,” Travelers’ Cornell said. “We can go all over social media and find people selling MC numbers with log-in codes, with access to big shippers’ clients … all these things.”

Strategic cargo thieves are more than willing to pay upward of $15,000 for an MC number with associated email, cellphone and log-in information and client relationships for the opportunity to steal loads, which are valued at about $300,000 on average, he said.

J.B. Hunt’s Heldenbrand said this form of cargo theft is particularly difficult to combat.

“It’s one of the hardest things to detect,” he said. “Until the first the person gets bit, it looks like a good carrier. And they’re not just buying the MC numbers, they’re really buying the credentials. … They’re buying access to the customers.”

Sharon Johnson, senior vice president and chief legal officer at third-party logistics provider Mode Global, applauded not to sell, purchase or lease MC numbers outside of legitimate corporate transactions.

In that March bulletin, FMCSA said it would inactivate MC numbers and revoke all related registrations upon discovering that the operating authority is being used by someone not legally assigned to it.

“I think that’s really helpful. It’s a nice step there because it has real consequences attached,” Johnson said. “My question is, does the FMCSA have the ability to really monitor something like that?”

Mode, based in Dallas, ranks No. 32 on the TT100 list of logistics companies.

The panelists encouraged attendees to invest in carrier vetting platforms and tracking technology to complement and strengthen their companies’ internal vetting processes. They also emphasized the importance of establishing a specific response plan to follow in the event of a cargo theft incident.

Jessica Renner, cargo claims and risk manager at Jarrett Logistics Systems, said no single technology platform or tool will address all cargo security threats.

Jarrett Logistics has deployed various tools for different aspects of the vetting process, including verifying phone numbers for incoming calls, carrier onboarding and vetting, and around-the-clock tracking and surveillance.

“The bigger picture is you need to change your culture within your company and have the right processes in place, because the tools themselves are never going to be enough,” Renner said.