For food 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.
15%
Of US cargo theft in Q1 2026 was food and beverage, the #2 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
Holiday protein staged for retail.
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
Food & beverage is the #2 most stolen category in the US.
Protein is easy to steal, easy to sell, and nearly impossible to trace. Thieves pick loads the same way your buyers do, hunting for what moves fast.
- High value per pallet
- No serial numbers, not traceable
- Constant consumer demand, quick to offload
- 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 moves fast at retail, it moves fast on the street. Your best sellers are their best targets.
Source: Overhaul Q1 2026 US Cargo Theft Report.
In the mind of the thief
Your stolen protein is sold before it spoils.
Stolen meat and seafood can’t sit in a stash, so thieves line up buyers before the pickup. Loads get split and sold on the street, online, and to kitchens that don’t ask questions, often within days.
Street & online
$40K
Pallets split up and sold for cash through personal networks and online posts.
Philadelphia
Five pallets of beef, about $40K, unloaded from a parked trailer into two sedans and an SUV. Police say this kind of meat “often just gets sold on the street” or online.
Restaurants & caterers
$400K
Short shelf life means fast buyers. Kitchens that don’t check suppliers keep it moving.
Taunton, MA
About $400K of lobster meat bound for Costco, taken by a carrier impersonating a real one. The broker believes it ended up in restaurants.
Full-trailer buyers
$600K
Whole reefer loads, pre-sold. Perishables have to move, so “they already know where it’s going.”
Texas Panhandle
A stolen trailer with 40,000 lbs of beef, about $600K, recovered by auto theft investigators. No arrests.
The bottom line
Once a load leaves your dock, it's split up and sold within days. Recovery is the exception.
Source: CBS Philadelphia, Oct 2026; AP via ABC7 Chicago, Dec 2025; KFDA NewsChannel 10, Oct 2025; CBC News (Ontario Trucking Alliance quote). Dollar figures are reported values per case.
Read our white paper
The Pickup Gap: protecting frozen and fresh protein.
Our peak season guide for food 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 protein 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 food 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