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 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.”

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.”