WASHINGTON — Cargo theft cost U.S. Class I railroads more than $100 million in 2024, the Association of American Railroads says, calling for more federal efforts to address the thefts and more effective prosecution of those arrested.
The AAR says in a recently released fact sheet that organized criminal groups are increasingly targeting freight moves, with estimates that more than 65,000 such thefts occurred in 2024. That would represent an approximately 40% increase. Railroads also say suspects are increasingly armed, increasing the risk of violence when attempting an arrest.
No more than one in 10 theft attempts result in an arrest, the industry says, and many of those arrested are repeat offenders; one railroad has reported arresting the same individual 17 times. The organization is calling for moves including increased penalties for those who commit cargo theft, “efficient and effective prosecution” when a theft occurs, and funding for federal prosecutors dedicated to cargo theft.
The AAR has also called for passage of a bill introduced in 2024 by U.S. Reps. David G. Valadao (R-Calif.) and Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) that seeks to increase coordination between the Department of HomelandHolemand Security and FBI to address supply-chain theft. That bill, HR 8834, died in committee last year; it does not appear to have been reintroduced as of yet in the current congressional term.
Way back they had the coal-iron police that struck fear in all us kids, maybe bring something like them back again!
Ron, those were the days. Chasing the Rockwell Gardens residents in Chicago. Even back then, catch them, courts released them because they were juveniles. The gangs used their youngest to do the initial theft work. Trains always seemed to get stopped to have to line a switch onto the CJ.
Railroads today just write those loses off as a part of doing business. How many Class 1’s move how many containers? It is a small price for them to pay. At one time freight rates were adjusted so that the customer couldn’t file a claim unless it was a large loss.
So true Mr. Link, the RR is private property it’s their duty to protect & serve their own property & assets. Mass transit rail/lightrail/ bus employs their own police. I seem to recall a few run ins with RR police in my days of railfanning swooping in on us “suspicious” characters with cameras real proactive then with a couple of easy targets to intimidate. If they want mobile conductors to chase trains they can have their “Special Agents” chase after them too!
They probably don’t want to hire the needed security because it would have a negative effect on their operating ratio…. lol
The shareholders would have a hissy fit but a caboose with a couple of armed RR cops like SP used to have might be worth a try.
One caboose on a two mile long train isn’t going to stop much. maybe a camera as part of GPS package on railcars or containers.
There was a recent story ,where gangs working for the drug cartels, were robbing intermodal shipments in the AZ desert of Nike sneakers.Were they being sold ,in the inner-city ,by the same dealers that sell drugs
I remember many years ago when a gang of Erie Railroad employees, most of them related, had a sophisticated theft operation from cars in the local yard. It took a while but the RR police spotted patterns in the heists and shut it down.
That’s too bad. It’s a shame railroads don’t employ their own police force to handle this type of theft.
Oh wait, they do have their own private police force. You say they endured big layoffs when PSR was implemented? Well, the shareholders were happy right?
$100 million… ….wonder how much razor wire and fencing that would buy? It’s comical AAR wants regulations when it benefits them, but if regulations benefit the shippers or workers, AAR whines about that.
When we’d take a piggyback train from Englewood yard basically anywhere, we’d have standing orders not to stop for any reason. Dispatchers were instructed to give these transfer moves the highest priority. If, for whatever reason we did have to stop, especially on the former NYC/RI between Englewood and 16th St., we’d be stuck directly across from the high rise, low income housing projects. When I’d look back along our train, especially in the summer months, we’d be literally swarmed by petty thieves opening trailers and grabbing whatever was available. On the return trip with just our engines and caboose the track where we’d been stopped would be strewn with empty boxes, opened boxes and merchandise that wasn’t carted off.
In medieval times, thievery was punished by cutting off one of their hands. Maybe we need to resort back to this. As terrible as it sounds, I think crime would come way down. At least the guy in this story that has been caught 17 times would only have done this 2 times, and that would have stopped his rampage.
Steven:
A “Politically incorrect” suggestion in our times, perhaps, but yes maybe it should be considered.
This article clearly shows how society is continuing its downward spiral with seemingly no consequences for breaking the law. Why do we have to pay taxes anymore when government (at ALL LEVELS, local/state/federal) has become so incompetent and unaccountable to the taxpayers?
It would be interesting to know how much of this $100M cargo theft loss figure occurred on rail lines in California. I’m guessing it would be a large portion of this amount …..