Fighting cargo theft protects Iowa businesses and consumers

Organized cargo theft is skyrocketing, and the impact is real for businesses, workers and families here in Iowa and across the country. In fact, there was a recent 60 Minutes report about cargo theft where 24,000 bottles of Guy Fieri’s tequila vanished en route to a warehouse. It might sound like a quirky headline but the truth behind it isn’t novel or isolated.

According to CBS Iowa, trucking cargo theft incidents in our state are up 1,500% since 2021, part of a national surge that’s costing billions. Everything from groceries and clothing to electronics and medical supplies is being stolen off trucks, railcars, and warehouses before ever reaching store shelves. Three-quarters of Iowa trucking companies say they’ve been hit in the past 18 months.

When thefts like these multiply, we all pay more. Businesses lose inventory, insurance rates rise, and the higher costs ultimately reach consumers. In a time when costs are already straining Iowa families and small businesses, this is one more problem we can’t afford to ignore.

That’s why I want to commend Sen. Chuck Grassley for his leadership on a common sense, bipartisan solution — the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA), which he cosponsors with Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada. CORCA would take aim at the root of the problem: organized crime networks that exploit gaps between local, state, and federal enforcement.

The bill would create a national coordination center to help law enforcement agencies share intelligence, track stolen goods and recover lost cargo across state lines. It would also give the Department of Homeland Security new tools to pursue the sophisticated rings behind many of these thefts — rings that are increasingly tied to international criminal networks.

As the Association of American Railroads noted in support of the bill, “Cargo theft is not a victimless crime — it increases costs for consumers, endangers workers, and threatens the reliability of the supply chain.” That’s especially true for freight rail, which moves roughly 40% of U.S. long-distance freight and has faced its own rise in thefts targeting high-value goods.

Here in Iowa, where agriculture, manufacturing, and logistics are pillars of our economy, the stakes couldn’t be higher. From the pork producers shipping products nationwide to the manufacturers relying on just-in-time deliveries, cargo theft is a drag on productivity and a hidden tax on everyone’s bottom line.

The Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI) believes in solutions that protect both economic growth and consumer well-being. CORCA does just that — strengthening law enforcement coordination, improving data sharing and helping safeguard the goods that keep our economy running.

Sen. Grassley’s long record of practical problem-solving continues with this effort. His leadership ensures that Iowa’s voice is shaping national policy on an issue that affects every business and every household in our state.

Cargo theft may make for an eye-catching headline, but the solution lies in steady, bipartisan work — and Iowa is once again helping lead the way.

Brad Hartkopf is the Senior Director of Public Policy at The Iowa Association of Business and Industry (ABI).