Survey shows growing concern around cargo theft becoming more organized, sophisticated and frequent

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep. 24, 2026-- SmartSense by Digi®, part of Digi International (NASDAQ: DGII, www.digi.com), a leading global provider of Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity solutions, today released findings from its Cargo Theft Report, based on a survey of 150 U.S.-based loss and organized retail crime (ORC) prevention leaders. As organizations face increasingly sophisticated and diverse cargo crime threats, this study examines expert perspectives on the tactics driving cargo theft, the financial impact on businesses, and the strategies leaders believe are most effective for reducing risk.

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SmartSense Report: 79% of Loss and Organized Retail Crime Prevention Leaders More Concerned About Cargo Theft Than Ever Before

The findings reveal that cargo theft has become an increasingly coordinated and sophisticated threat. Eighty-one percent (81%) of respondents report it has become more organized in recent years, while 79% say their organization is more concerned about cargo theft today than ever before.

“Cargo thieves have continued to escalate their tactics and expand their use of technology,” said Guy Yehiav, President of SmartSense by Digi. “Businesses need to evolve with it. New forms of instantaneous location tracking and visibility intelligence are needed to understand what normal movement looks like, identify anomalies quickly and act before suspicious activity turns into a multimillion-dollar loss.”

The Supply Chain Under Siege

Cargo theft is evolving rapidly. According to the survey, businesses are facing highly coordinated criminal networks that exploit vulnerabilities across the supply chain using increasingly sophisticated tactics.

Key findings include:

• 63% say cargo theft incidents have increased compared with last year;
• 81% say organized retail crime (ORC) is a growing concern for their organization;
• 80% say that cargo theft incidents have led to lost sales for their organization;
• 40% report annual losses of at least $1 million due to cargo theft, and 28% report annual losses of more than $2 million.

When asked about cargo theft tactics, respondents identified fraudulent pickups and carrier impersonation (78%), GPS jamming and spoofing (71%), trailer theft (66%), and double brokering (64%) as their top concerns.

The data paints a troubling picture of increasingly organized criminal operations targeting U.S. supply chains through a wide range of tactics designed to evade traditional security measures.

“Cargo theft is increasingly a cybersecurity issue as much as it is a physical security issue. If criminals gain access to transportation or logistics systems, they can potentially identify what is being shipped, where it is going and when it will be there. That intelligence can turn a shipment into a very specific target,” said Scott Glenn, Vice President of Asset Protection at The Home Depot. “As criminal organizations become more sophisticated, companies have to think about protecting the data surrounding a shipment just as seriously as they protect the shipment itself.”

The Need for Real-time Visibility and Intelligence

The severity of cargo theft’s threat is being taken seriously. Seventy percent (70%) say their organizations are investing more this year in cargo theft prevention compared to last year.

Overall, the capabilities respondents believe will make the biggest difference in fighting cargo theft include real-time location visibility and data that can be used to identify recurring theft patterns or high-risk routes.

Technology, however, is only one part of the solution. Successfully combatting cargo theft also requires faster coordination and response when incidents occur. Just 37% of respondents say they regularly report incidents and work directly with law enforcement on investigations. Since many thefts go unreported, the true scale of the problem is likely larger than current figures suggest.

“The companies making the most progress are moving from visibility to actionability,” said Yehiav. “Real-time monitoring and faster alerts help teams respond to route deviations, unauthorized stops and other warning signs while there’s still time to intervene, protecting not only the shipment, but also revenue, customer trust and overall supply chain resilience. For losses that can’t be prevented, it also provides more data for fueling cooperation with law enforcement.”

To read the full findings from the SmartSense Cargo Theft Report, which provides further data and insights on the above topics, as well as insights unique to third-party transportation, visit: www.smartsense.co/cargo-theft-26.

About the Survey

This survey was conducted by Coleman Parkes in August 2026, polling 150 U.S.-based loss prevention and organized retail crime prevention leaders to understand the growing impact of cargo theft on organizations and across the supply chain. The respondent sample reflects a diverse cross-section of industries, organizational sizes, and geographic responsibilities, representing companies with annual revenues ranging from less than $10 million to more than $10 billion and roles spanning supply chain leadership, supply chain security, risk management, logistics, distribution security, loss prevention, and organized retail crime prevention.

About SmartSense by Digi

SmartSense by Digi®, a business unit of Digi International (NASDAQ: DGII), is a leading global provider of Internet of Things (IoT) Sensing-as-a-Service solutions that deliver dynamic and personalized asset tracking, monitoring, process digitization, and digital decisioning across key verticals. The company enables organizations to leverage the power of IoT automation, prescriptive workflows, and insightful analytics to ensure compliance, workforce productivity, brand loyalty, loss prevention, and reduction of waste and energy consumption. Combining new and innovative data-driven approaches with world-class IoT tools, SmartSense partners with enterprises to elevate their business outcomes and asset protection to new heights. For more information, visit www.smartsense.co/.

About Digi International

Digi International (NASDAQ: DGII) is a global technology leader empowering enterprises to build, connect, and manage the critical systems that drive their businesses. Through an integrated portfolio of managed services, intelligent software, secure connectivity, and resilient edge solutions, Digi helps enterprises monitor, update, and control assets in real time, strengthen compliance, streamline workflows, and keep distributed operations running without interruption. Since 1985, Digi has enabled organizations worldwide to modernize operations and confidently connect millions of devices. Learn more at www.digi.com.

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Source: Digi International