For electronics and data center shippers
This peak season's biggest threatwalks in with the right paperwork.
Thieves no longer need to steal trucks. They show up with convincing paperwork and a friendly story, and your team hands them the load. Arthur verifies the driver and truck at your dock in about 90 seconds, before the freight leaves.
+35%
Growth in deceptive pickups in 2025, the fastest-growing theft method.
17%
Of US cargo theft in Q1 2026 was electronics, the #1 most stolen.
82%
Of US cargo theft incidents happen in just five states.
90 sec
To verify a pickup, with minimal changes to your dock’s SOPs.
Source: Overhaul Q1 2026 US cargo theft data; Verisk CargoNet 2025 annual supply chain risk analysis; Arthur production data.
Peak season is theft season
Thieves work holidays.
Your dock is short-staffed and your freight is at its most valuable. And the risk doesn't end on January 2: these patterns repeat every time volume spikes.
Thanksgiving week
Nov 24 to 29
174
Thefts, 2019 to 2023. Peak day: the Monday after.
The holiday stretch
Dec 23 to Jan 2
353
Theft and fraud events over five years. Busiest day: Dec 23.
Reduced staffing
Temp labor and skeleton crews at the dock.
Heightened inventory
High-value hardware staged for delivery.
Predictable timing
Thieves know the dates as well as you do.
Source: CargoNet holiday theft analyses (Thanksgiving week 2019 to 2023; Dec 23 to Jan 2 over five years).
Why you are targeted
Electronics are the #1 most stolen category in the US.
Electronics are high value, in constant demand, and hard to trace. Thieves pick loads the same way your buyers do, hunting for what moves fast.
- Millions of dollars per trailer
- Parted out and resold, hard to trace
- Buyers lined up, often overseas
- Thieves know when volume peaks and staffing drops
Cargo theft by category
Share of US cargo theft incidents, Q1 2026
- 1Electronics17%
- 2Food & beverage15%
- T3Apparel11%
- T3Auto parts11%
The bottom line
If it powers AI, someone is already waiting to buy it. Your most valuable loads are their best targets.
Source: Overhaul Q1 2026; NBC News, Oct 2026.
In the mind of the thief
Your stolen hardware is sold before you know it’s gone.
Stolen data center gear rarely sits for long. Buyers are often lined up before the theft, and industry experts estimate 6 to 7 of every 10 stolen loads end up overseas.
Truckload crews
$1Ms
Small crews that take a full trailer and strip it within hours. Typical load value.
San Bernardino
A $1.4M truckload of consumer electronics was stolen from a yard. About half was already unloaded when police found it in Compton and arrested eight suspects.
Organized rings
$10Ms
Multi-year rings moving brand-name gear through fences. Estimated ring volume.
Los Angeles
A ring tied to $9M+ in stolen Google, HP, Dell, Samsung, and Apple electronics. $1M recovered.
Overseas export
>$30M
The most sophisticated rings, shipping data center gear to buyers abroad, often under US export controls.
Reno
About $38M in data center gear vanished in a single theft, part of $100M+ stolen in transit since June.
The bottom line
Once a load leaves your dock, it's split up and sold within days. Recovery is the exception.
Source: NBC News via Tom’s Hardware, Oct 2026; TT News, Sept 2025; CBS News, Aug 2022; TAPA Americas. Volume tiers are Arthur estimates based on reported losses.
Read our white paper
The Pickup Gap: protecting high-value electronics.
Our peak season guide for electronics and data center shippers. Tell us where to send it and we'll email you a copy.
What's inside
- How a fake pickup works, step by step, with the red flags at each one
- Where stolen data center hardware ends up, and how fast
- A three-step rollout plan for your docks
- Questions to ask your brokers and 3PLs
This peak season
Close the gap before peak.Run a free pilot through January 1.
Arthur is working with a small group of electronics and data center shippers this peak season. Unlimited verifications for up to four weeks during the trial. Getting started takes one call.
01
Book a call
Tell us about your lanes, docks, and peak volumes.
02
Run a pilot
Drivers get a text link. No app, no hardware, no SOP overhaul.
03
Verify every pickup
Every load leaves a record of who took it.
Questions? Email hello@choosearthur.com