UK fleet managers are becoming less concerned about cargo theft even as incident levels remain high and the shortage of secure lorry parking continues to leave trucks vulnerable. New figures from Geotab and the Road Haulage Association point to a disconnect between how operators see the threat and the conditions that still make freight crime easier.
Geotab said 55% of UK fleet managers are less concerned about cargo theft than they were 12 months ago, despite UK respondents still reporting an average of 32 cargo-theft-related incidents over the past year. Across the wider European sample, the average was 34 incidents per company. The company also said industry losses from cargo theft have increased by 438% since 2022.
The more relaxed mood described in that survey comes as the RHA renews its warning that the UK is still around 11,000 lorry parking spaces short. According to the association, that leaves too many trucks stopping overnight in lay-bys, industrial estates and other exposed locations where thieves know vehicles and loads are easier to target.
Parking shortage still feeds freight crime
The parking issue has become one of the clearest practical links between day-to-day haulage operations and freight crime. When drivers run out of legal hours, they often have little choice but to stop where space is available rather than where security is strongest. The RHA argues that this lack of safe parking remains a significant part of the freight-crime problem.
Independent crime data suggests the wider threat remains serious. NaVCIS said it processed 3,424 individual freight-crime notifications in 2025, recorded an estimated £65 million in cost-price losses and was notified of 265 arrests directly related to freight crime.
The broader economic damage is higher still. The RHA says police estimate freight crime has cost the UK economy more than £1 billion since 2020.
Long-recognised problem, limited progress
The shortage of HGV parking is not a new issue. In a written parliamentary answer published on 26 February 2026, the Department for Transport pointed to its 2022 national lorry parking survey, which found an average shortfall of around 4,500 HGV parking spaces in March 2022 and highlighted concerns about both welfare facilities and site security.
That does not match the RHA’s current estimate of an 11,000-space gap, but it does show that the security and capacity problem has been recognised for years. The department also said a new national lorry parking survey is underway, with results expected in autumn 2026.
