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More than $100 million in freight has reportedly been stolen since June, according to industry executives, consultants, and investigators cited by NBC News. “We’ve seen some of these thefts go up into 30-plus million dollars for one particular shipment. NBC News identified nearly two dozen thefts involving high-end technology since last year, including incidents in California, Texas and Utah. In early June, a trailer carrying about $13 million in server equipment was travelling towards Fayetteville, Georgia, followed by two off-duty law enforcement officers in an unmarked car. While crossing the Mojave Desert, another vehicle struck the escort car, forcing it to stop. The bad guys wanted that load, so they intentionally took out the escorts,” said Gerardo Pachuca, a private investigator who previously investigated cargo theft for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. About three weeks later, a security vehicle escorting roughly $10 million in server rack components from San Jose to Texas was disabled in another collision. The trailer’s tracking app continued to show movement toward its destination, but investigators believe the location data was falsified. Cargo experts told NBC News that buyers sometimes identify cargo before a shipment is stolen. In July, drivers using fake licences stole approximately $38 million in cables and cartridges in Reno, Nevada, according to people assisting the investigation. The goods were reportedly intended for shipment to Asia. Verisk CargoNet’s analysis found that overall cargo theft incidents fell 26% in the second quarter of 2026 compared with a year earlier. However, estimated losses more than doubled to $304.6 million, driven by several multimillion-dollar technology thefts. Security escorts are becoming more common as shipment values rise.
The losses come as the AI construction boom sends expensive servers, memory chips, cables and other equipment across American highways. “It’s like stealing pure gold bars,” said Keith Lewis, head of operations at risk-assessment firm Verisk CargoNet. Neither shipment’s cargo has been recovered, according to the report. Investigators say organised groups increasingly use stolen trucking-company identities and compromised freight accounts to obtain valuable shipments. Mike Duffy, co-founder and CEO of Solutions Group International, said his company escorts hundreds of loads each month, many connected to data centres. Scott Cornell, chair of supply-chain security organisation TAPA Americas, said checking drivers’ identities remains essential. “The only way this works is if the drivers are not properly vetted,” he said.
Data centre equipment is becoming a target for cargo thieves in the US. It’s so much easier to steal this than to rob a bank. The trailer continued travelling and was found the next day at a truck yard in Stockton, California, with the equipment missing. “The accident was not an accident. These methods let criminals identify cargo in advance and reroute legitimate pickups. Drivers collecting the goods may not know they are participating in a theft. Criminals can resell the equipment overseas or break it down for parts. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.