Trucking news and briefs for Friday, May 23, 2025:
Holiday cargo theft warning issued ahead of Memorial Day
California, Texas and Florida are the most targeted states by cargo thieves during the most recent Memorial Day weekends.CargoNet
As Memorial Day weekend approaches, cargo theft activity across the United States has surged to unprecedented levels, according to theft recording firm CargoNet, with reported incidents in 2025 already reaching alarming rates that far exceed historical averages.
Analysis of holiday-period theft data from the past five years reveals a concerning pattern that suggests heightened risk during the upcoming Memorial Day weekend.
"Our data shows that holiday weekends consistently create perfect opportunities for cargo thieves," said Keith Lewis, Vice President of Operations at CargoNet. "The days immediately following Memorial Day have historically seen elevated theft activity, likely because loaded trailers are often left unattended while businesses close for the holiday."
CargoNet's analysis of 159 theft events occurring between the Thursday before Memorial Day and the Wednesday after Memorial Day over the past five years shows a troubling upward trend. While 2020 recorded 35 incidents and 2021 saw 28, the numbers climbed significantly in recent years with 41 events in 2023 and 39 in 2024.
California, Texas and Florida remain the most targeted states for cargo theft during the Memorial Day period. At the county level, San Bernardino County and Los Angeles County in California, along with Dallas County in Texas, have experienced the highest concentration of Memorial Day holiday theft events over the five-year analysis period.
Thieves have shown particular interest in specific commodities during past Memorial Day periods, with non-alcoholic beverages (especially energy drinks), major appliances, and full truckload shipments containing mixed consumer goods destined for large retailers topping the list of most frequently stolen items.
CargoNet recommends that transportation companies, logistics providers and retailers implement enhanced security protocols for the upcoming holiday period. This includes avoiding unsecured parking, scheduling strategically to minimize the time loaded trailers sit unattended, verifying all security systems are functioning properly, conducting security briefings with drivers and staff, reporting suspicious activity immediately, and implementing layered security measures such as high-security locks and GPS tracking devices.
[Related: Identity theft leads the way as freight fraud trends upward]
Truck tonnage declined slightly in April: ATA
Trucking activity in the United States slipped again in April as the freight market remained choppy early in the second quarter.
Specifically, truck freight tonnage decreased 0.3% after contracting 1.5% in March, according to the American Trucking Associations’ advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index.
Truck tonnage dipped in April following a larger decline in March.ATA
“After surging 2.8% in February, and hitting the highest level since late May 2024, tonnage fell a combined 1.8% in March and April,” said ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello. “Unfortunately, a recovery that was expected this year hasn’t transpired as the industry deals with a freight market in flux from tariffs and softening economic indicators.”
In April, the ATA advanced seasonally adjusted For-Hire Truck Tonnage Index equaled 113.0, down from 113.3 in March. The index, which is based on 2015 as 100, was up 0.1% from the same month last year, the fourth straight year-over-year increase, albeit the smallest increase over this period.
The not seasonally adjusted index, which calculates raw changes in tonnage hauled, equaled 112.0 in April, 2.2% below March’s reading of 114.6.
Trucking conditions turned positive in March
FTR this week reported that its Trucking Conditions Index (TCI) for March saw a slight improvement into positive territory as a result of stronger freight volume and lower fuel costs to close out the first quarter.
The firm reported a TCI reading of 0.28 in March, compared to -0.21 in February. While freight volume and fuel costs were better for motor carriers during the month, weak rates mostly offset those favorable conditions, FTR noted.
While overall market conditions improved marginally for carriers in March, FTR’s forecast for trucking conditions recently deteriorated due to the anticipated effects from tariffs.
“Overall market conditions were unusually stable in March, although freight rates remained weak,” said Avery Vise, FTR’s vice president of trucking. “After a strong first quarter in freight volume -- at least partially due to a pull-forward of imports in advance of tariffs -- we expect more volatility in the months ahead as shippers respond to U.S. trade policy shifts.”
Vise added that the recent 90-day agreement between the U.S. and China “greatly reduces the potential near-term hit to freight volumes, but we still expect uncertainty and higher costs for consumers to be drags on the economy and freight.”
One thing Vise said FTR is watching as a “wild card” moving forward “is whether renewed scrutiny concerning truck drivers’ English language skills and non-domicile CDLs will affect the driver supply significantly.”
