Cargo theft is no longer a rare “big fleet” problem. It hits owner-operators and small to mid-sized fleets because the weak points are the same everywhere: unattended trailers, predictable stops, slow response time, and gaps in visibility. Reported cargo-theft activity across the U.S. and Canada has been trending upward, with Verisk CargoNet reporting thousands of incidents in 2025 and describing a sharp year-over-year increase. A newer CargoNet analysis also points to large estimated losses in 2026.
Why Cargo Theft Is Increasing Across the U.S.
Theft succeeds when someone can move freight or equipment without being noticed quickly. Straight cargo theft can happen at a facility, in a yard, or at a stop, and criminals tend to target goods that can be resold fast. The other risk that’s growing is deception-based theft, where thieves impersonate legitimate carriers or use stolen identities and credentials to get freight released. The FMCSA has publicly warned about broker and carrier fraud and identity theft, outlining recommended steps for companies that suspect they have been targeted.
In practical terms, the first minutes matter. If you discover a trailer is missing hours later, the recovery rate drops, and the disruption multiplies. That is exactly where real-time asset visibility and boundary-based alerts change the outcome.
How Asset Trackers Help
An asset tracker is more than a location pin on a screen. It gives you real-time control over trailers, containers, and high-value equipment that operate beyond your direct visibility.
1. Real-Time GPS Tracking
With GPS tracking, a dispatcher, the driver, and the owner can see where an asset is, so you spend less time guessing and more time acting. If a trailer moves at an unusual time, shows unexpected movement after a drop, or starts heading the wrong direction, you can catch that change immediately instead of finding out at the next check-in.
2. Location History for Faster Recovery
In a theft event, details matter. A consistent trail of pings, movements, and last-known coordinates helps you provide clearer information to law enforcement and to your internal team. It also improves the accuracy of what you tell a shipper, broker, or insurer when minutes feel expensive.
Geofencing to Stop Unauthorized Trailer Movement
Geofencing is the rule layer on top of tracking. It lets you set a virtual boundary around a yard, customer location, drop lot, terminal, or even a high-risk corridor. If the vehicle or asset crosses that boundary, the system triggers an alert so you can respond immediately.
That instant notification concept is the key difference between knowing where something is and knowing when something is wrong.
1. Yard Move Geofence Alerts
A practical approach is to set geofences around places where theft risk is naturally higher: long dwell locations, unsecured drop areas, and known “wait zones” near pickup or delivery points. When a trailer leaves a geofence outside your planned schedule, that’s a red flag you can investigate while the asset is still moving.
2. Reduce false alarms with time and Route Notifications
Smart geofencing isn’t about pinging you all day. It’s about matching alerts to your plan. If a trailer is expected to leave a shipper at 2:00 PM, an exit at 2:05 PM is normal. An exit at 2:00 AM may not be. The closer your alert logic is to real dispatch intent, the more you trust it, and the faster you act when it matters.
Combine Asset Tracking with ELD and Fleet Management Systems
Many fleets try to bolt theft prevention into operations as a separate tool. That often fails because drivers and managers already have too many apps, logins, and dashboards. TruckX’s advantage is that theft prevention can be inside a single broader fleet workflow that also supports ELD compliance and day-to-day operations.
1. Fleet Dashboard for Faster Action
When you are tracking geofences, fleet oversight sits in one place, and you reduce the handoff time between “someone noticed” and “someone acted.” That can mean calling a facility while the trailer is still nearby, checking whether the driver is still on route, and escalating quickly with accurate location details.
2. Compliance discipline also reduces theft exposure
ELD workflows indirectly support theft prevention by tightening operational discipline. When your team has better visibility into driving time, stops, and route progress, it becomes harder for unusual detours or unexplained dwell to go unnoticed for long. The operational habit becomes “verify early,” which is the same mindset that prevents small security gaps from turning into major losses.
3. Better processes help against fraud-based theft
Identity-based cargo theft thrives in confusion: rushed pickups, incomplete verification, and unclear chain-of-custody. FMCSA’s fraud guidance exists for a reason. While tracking and geofencing can’t stop every fraudulent attempt, they can shorten the time it takes to detect that a load is not moving as expected and give you stronger evidence when you need to escalate.
The real impact on owner-operators and small fleets
For smaller fleets, cargo theft is not just a claim. It is missed reloads, angry customers, admin chaos, and days of follow-up that steal attention from revenue. With asset trackers and geofencing, you are buying back time and control. You are also building a more professional operation that shippers and brokers trust because you can answer the hard questions fast.
If you want theft prevention that doesn’t feel like “one more tool,” start with TruckX, which you will use every day. When location intelligence and geofence alerts are part of your regular dispatch rhythm, alongside ELD and fleet oversight, you stop reacting late and start preventing losses early. Explore our Fleet Management and ELD Solutions atTruckX.com or call +1 (650) 600-6007 today to discover more.
