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American trucking industry urges lawmakers to act as online cargo theft surges
Online cargo theft affecting freight trucking industry
The American trucking industry moves nearly three-fourths of freight across the U.S. Unfortunately, thieves and frauds are wiggling their way into the supply chain. Creating an $19 million dollar hit to the industry, every single day.
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SAN ANTONIO, Texas – As the holiday season kicks off, freight trucking experts say cargo theft will once again surge as more products hit the road.
The July Q2 report from Verisk CargoNet, a national information-sharing system that tracks cargo theft, shows a 13% increase in cargo theft compared to the same time in 2024.
Old-fashioned cargo theft is still happening, and one San Antonio-based freight business has some experience with it.
“Before 2020 it was more just straight thefts,” said Adam Blanchard, co-founder of Double Diamond Transport and Tanager Logistics. “They would come in, cut the seals and take cargo out of it.”
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While this freight truck is stopped, the driver is unaware criminals are stealing the load in his truck. (Verisk CargoNet)
Online cargo theft has skyrocketed since the pandemic, rising 1,500% over the past four years, according to Trucking.org.
Keith Lewis, CargoNet’s Vice President of Operations, said he noticed the jump in online theft just after 2020, “and the bad guys realized they could work from anywhere in the world and control freight.”
These fraudsters are now digging deep into all facets of the trucking industry.
“They stole my identity as a freight broker in order to get cargo from other companies and tender it to legitimate motor carriers and I started having legitimate trucking companies reaching out to me asking for payment for freight that wasn’t mine,” Blanchard said.
Blanchard traced the fraudsters back to Eastern Europe and found they stole a load of energy drinks. His business partner got the fake logistics company on the phone, but they were never hit with legal action.
The heist by the fraudsters hurt Blanchard’s reputation, and due to the rise in theft claims, his business insurance rates doubled this year.
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Adam Blanchard, a freight business owner, said many stolen goods are sent to fake warehouses. (FOX News)
American Trucking Associations (ATA) CEO Chris Spear told FOX, “This is much more tech-driven by transnational organizations operating out of Eastern Europe, Russia. They’re actually going into the bill of laden, they’re looking for the expensive type of freight.”
But what happens once a truckload of product is stolen by a fraudster across the world?
“They’ll steal that freight, put it in containers as best we can tell, a lot of it is going to the LA area, and transport it to other countries,” Blanchard said.
CargoNet’s Lewis said sometimes freight companies do not know a load of goods is stolen until weeks, months or even a year later.
“The problem is, is we don’t have mandatory reporting, so a lot of these go unreported,” he said.
So far this year, California, Texas, and Illinois rank in the top three for cargo theft, representing 53% of all cargo theft nationwide. The top items targeted are food and beverages, and household goods.
The ATA says cargo theft is a $19 million-a-day hit to the trucking industry.
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California, Texas and Illinois are the top three states for cargo theft in the U.S., according to CargoNet. (FOX News)
The freight trucking industry is urging lawmakers to pass the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA). The ATA said the bill “would provide law enforcement and industry with a unified framework to fight back. Not only would it create a long-overdue task force to pursue these criminal rings, but it would also establish a badly needed national cargo theft database.”
Blanchard testified to Congress in February, along with other industry leaders.
“Here is the crux of the issue. There is no law enforcement agency that is focused on this,” Blanchard said. “Until we get legislation passed on the federal level that establishes a federal law enforcement coalition that begins to investigate these crimes, and begins to actually conduct arrests and prosecutions, this [is] only going to continue to get worse.”
Blanchard said theft will affect every part of the business, which means he may have to increase prices – ultimately leading to higher prices for shoppers.
“When they’re seeing products not arriving on the shelves, there’s a shortage of that,” Spear said. “The cost goes up. There’s a reflection in what you, I and what everyone pays for the things we want and need.”
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Two Texas men charged in plot to invade Haitian island and make women, children ‘sex slaves’: prosecutors
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Two Texas men have been charged in an alleged plot to invade a Haitian island, kill its male residents and enslave the women and children as their “sex slaves,” federal prosecutors announced Thursday.
Gavin Rivers Weisenburg, 21, of Allen, and Tanner Christopher Thomas, 20, of Argyle, were indicted on charges of conspiracy to murder, maim or kidnap in a foreign country and production of child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas.
“Weisenburg and Thomas intended to murder all of the men on the island so that they could then turn all of the women and children into their sex slaves,” federal prosecutors allege.
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Tanner Christopher Thomas, 20, of Argyle, Texas, is pictured here. (Comal County Jail)
Between August 2024 and July 2025, Weisenburg and Thomas allegedly planned to take over Gonave Island “to carry out their rape fantasies,” court documents state.
They intended to buy a sailboat, guns and ammunition and recruit members from Washington, D.C.’s homeless community to “serve as a mercenary force as they invaded Gonave Island and staged a coup d’état,” prosecutors said.
Gavin Rivers Weisenburg, 21, of Allen, Texas. (Collin County Sheriff’s Office)
Authorities allege the pair took steps to prepare for the invasion, including learning Haitian Creole, attempting to recruit others and enrolling in schools to gain skills that would help them carry out the invasion.
Thomas even joined the U.S. Air Force to receive relevant military training, according to prosecutors.
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Haitians on a boat next to the Cariesse Terminal Ferry travel to Gonave Island, located west of the coast of Port-au-Prince. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)
In addition to the alleged invasion plan, both men are accused of producing child pornography.
Gonave Island, located in the Gulf of Gonave, has a population of roughly 100,000, according to La Gonave Haiti Partners.
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A view of Gonave Island, which has a population of roughly 100,000. (Google Maps)
If convicted, Weisenburg and Thomas each face up to life in federal prison for the conspiracy charge. The child pornography charge carries between 15 and 30 years in federal prison.
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The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Texas files emergency Supreme Court petition after Trump-backed congressional map blocked by federal judges
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Texas on Friday filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court after a ruling by a panel of federal judges blocked the state from using its redrawn congressional map, calling it “racially gerrymandered.”
Shortly after filing the petition, Justice Samuel Alito issued an administrative stay, temporarily putting the lower panel’s decision blocking Texas’ new maps on hold.
The state asked the high court for an administrative stay on the lower court ruling, noting Texas has an “election already in progress,” referring to congressional primary elections in March.
The Supreme Court most recently blocked lower court rulings related to redistricting cases in Louisiana and Alabama.
Texas redrew its congressional map last summer in a President Donald Trump-backed effort that could help Republicans gain five seats in next year’s midterms.
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Texas on Friday filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court after a ruling by a panel of federal judges who blocked the state from using its redrawn congressional map, calling it “racially gerrymandered.” (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey V. Brown, a Trump appointee, joined by U.S. District Judge David Guaderrama, an Obama appointee, in the majority ruling said, “The public perception of this case is that it’s about politics.
“To be sure, politics played a role in drawing the 2025 map,” the judges said. “But it was much more than just politics. Substantial evidence shows that Texas racially gerrymandered the 2025 map.”
Judge Jerry Smith, a Reagan appointee and the third of the three-judge panel, dissented without explanation.
The State Capitol in Austin, Texas (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
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The ruling was a significant blow to the Trump administration. It comes as Trump and his Republican allies have raced to pad the party’s razor-thin House majority in the run-up to the 2026 midterm elections, including by imploring some states to launch rare, mid-decade redistricting efforts.
Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio have redrawn their congressional maps as well, and other states like Florida and Kansas are weighing similar efforts.
Democratic states are also considering redrawing their maps to counteract Republican efforts.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton vowed Tuesday to appeal to the Supreme Court. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Most prominently, California voters approved by a wide margin earlier this month a plan to redistrict the state in an effort that could wipe out Texas’ new map.
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton vowed on Tuesday to appeal to the Supreme Court.
“For years, Democrats have engaged in partisan redistricting intended to eliminate Republican representation,” Paxton said. “But when Republicans respond in kind, Democrats rely on false accusations of racism to secure a partisan advantage.”
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One man is dead, and three others were shot, including two children, after gunfire rang out Saturday afternoon in an Arizona parking lot.
The shooting, which involved a sedan and an SUV, happened at about 2:45 p.m. local time in a business parking lot in south Phoenix.
Phoenix Police Department (PPD) Sgt. Brian Bower said during a news conference there was a dispute between the two cars, and both then pulled into the parking lot.
The dispute continued in the parking lot and a physical fight ensued, according to Bower. After the fight, shots were fired.
Police tape and officers seen near the area of 19th Ave. and Baseline in Phoenix, as officers responded to a shooting on Saturday. (Phoenix Police via X)
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The male suspect was alone in the sedan, Bower said. A man, woman and two children were in the SUV.
Police said multiple rounds were fired and all four people in the SUV were shot.
Police have not yet said what led up to the Phoenix shooting. (Phoenix Police Department)
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The man in the SUV died at the scene, according to Bower. The woman and two children who were also in the SUV were taken to the hospital and remain in critical condition.
Bower said the suspect, who has not yet been publicly identified, remained at the scene until police arrived. The man was also treated at the hospital and later taken into custody.
It is unclear what led to the shooting, which left one person dead and three others wounded. (iStock)
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Police did not confirm any pending charges against the suspect, noting he was speaking with detectives.
Detectives have not yet ruled out the possibility of the incident being related to road rage or self-defense, as there is no indication the two parties knew each other, according to Bower.
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The PPD did not immediately respond to additional inquiries from Fox News Digital.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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