The American Trucking Associations (ATA) is calling on Congress to take urgent action against a nationwide surge in cargo theft.
Testifying before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on behalf of ATA, Donna Lemm, chief strategy officer for IMC Logistics, called on supporting the Combatting Organized Retail Crime Act, which would establish a coordinated multi-agency response and equip law enforcement with new resources to address rising cargo theft incidents.
“Cargo theft will continue to metastasize unless Congress recognizes the severity of the problem, law enforcement devotes sufficient time and resources, and the federal government takes a leading role in coordinating enforcement efforts,” she told lawmakers, according to a news release.
Lemm shared several examples of the escalating threat, including a case where IMC Logistics had two containers of refrigerators stolen. Local police filed the incident as vandalism and considered it an insurance matter, she said. Months later, federal agents raided a warehouse and found the stolen refrigerators being used to conceal cash for cross-border smuggling, revealing the theft was part of a transnational criminal scheme.
Senators on the subcommittee launched the hearing to investigate these proliferating criminal enterprises that are costing the supply chain up to $35 billion annually while raising consumer prices and insurance costs. Strategic theft — a form of cargo theft that involves deception, fraud, cybertheft, and other sophisticated tactics — has risen 1,500% since the first quarter of 2021, and the average value per theft is over $200,000.
Motor carriers are already investing heavily in multilayered security systems, including guards, surveillance equipment, vehicle barriers, tracking technology, cybersecurity, engine immobilizers, and SOS buttons for drivers. But without federal law enforcement, however, trucking companies are left battling this scourge on their own, Lemm said, adding that smaller carriers face more difficulties battling complex schemes.
In April, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act. The bill, endorsed by ATA, would enhance legal frameworks, improve law enforcement capabilities, and foster coordination across federal, state, and local agencies. The Department of Homeland Security would lead the national response.
“This bill would put law enforcement’s level of coordination on par with their sophisticated criminal adversaries and safeguard our national security,” Lemm said.
