ATA Applauds House Appropriators for Approving $4 Million to Fight Cargo Theft

Washington - The American Trucking Associations applauded the House Appropriations Committee for passing the fiscal year 2027 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies funding bill, which would begin the process of establishing a unified, federal response to cargo theft. The legislation, which must now be considered by the full House, would require the U.S. Department of Justice to step up its enforcement of cargo theft cases as well as make a $4 million down payment to prosecute these crimes.

This initiative would complement the comprehensive framework created by the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act that has been endorsed by ATA and passed the House earlier this week. Together, the FY27 CJS appropriations bill and CORCA would help counter the sharp rise in cargo theft and broader supply chain fraud, addressing one of ATA's top strategic priorities.

"America's trucking industry delivers billions of tons of goods to every community, and those essential shipments have increasingly become prime targets for organized crime, putting truck drivers at risk and raising costs for consumers," said American Trucking Associations Chief Advocacy & Public Affairs Officer, Henry Hanscom. "ATA commends the House Appropriations Committee for directing DOJ to leverage its enforcement capabilities to pursue criminals operating across borders. This directive and funding will strengthen the partnership between the government, law enforcement, motor carriers, and our supply chain partners to strike an effective blow against these organized theft groups."

The bill includes report language championed by ATA that would:

• Direct DOJ to provide a briefing within 120 days on plans to establish regional task forces, led by the FBI and in partnership with HSI; TSA; USDOT; and federal, state, and local law enforcement to investigate and refer cases for prosecution. The bill allocates $2 million to support the establishment of these task forces.

• Direct the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys to submit a report within 90 days that identifies U.S. Attorneys' Offices (USAOs) with the highest rates of crime involving cargo theft and directs those USAOs to assign at least one additional attorney to cargo theft prosecutions. The bill allocates an additional $2 million for this purpose.

ATA secured similar provisions in FY26 and recently joined a coalition to pressure DOJ to implement this congressional mandate.

Cargo theft is becoming increasingly prevalent and high-tech, and it often originates overseas. The American Transportation Research Institute calculated that cargo theft is costing the trucking industry over $18 million per day. Strategic theft, a category of crime that uses deception, identity theft, and fraudulent documentation to divert freight, has surged by 1,500% since 2021 according to CargoNet. Ninety percent of motor carriers are small businesses operating 10 trucks or fewer, and they are under enormous strain to counter these technologically advanced adversaries. The transnational aspect of cargo theft also poses a national security threat. The proceeds from stolen goods finance other criminal activities, including drug trafficking, organized crime, and even potentially terrorism.