JERSEY CITY, N.J. - CargoNet is issuing a cargo theft advisory for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend. We know that organized cargo theft groups exploit the nighttime hours and weekends because more trucks will be parked and unattended. Major U.S. holidays are a force multiplier for cargo thieves because there are more unattended trucks to choose from and the trucks will be unattended for a longer period of time—affording the offenders more lead time to get away with their crimes. In preparation for this, CargoNet examined its cargo theft data from the Wednesday before Memorial Day to the Wednesday after Memorial Day for 2012 to 2016. In the aforementioned time period, 126 cargo theft events in the United States and Canada were reported. Reports were most common in California, Florida, Texas, Georgia, and New Jersey, respectively. However, there were 23 states or provinces in total that experienced some cargo theft in this reporting period. Cargo was most commonly stolen on Wednesday, with 24 reported thefts, and Saturday, with 23 reported thefts. But we note this analysis included two Wednesdays and just one Saturday. We expect that most thefts occurred from Friday to Tuesday morning. Food and beverage products were the most common commodity stolen; and produce items like fruits, nuts, and vegetables were the most targeted food and beverage items. Food and beverage products were followed by household products, such as major appliances and furniture, and then by electronics products. Noteworthy thefts from previous Memorial Day weekends
  • $2,920,000 in communications equipment stolen from Memphis, Tennessee 
  • $1,500,000 in computer tablets stolen from Wilmington, Delaware 
  • $1,200,000 in seafood stolen from Elizabeth, New Jersey 
  • $900,000 in video game systems stolen from Carson, California 
  • $600,000 in communications equipment stolen from West Memphis, Arkansas