With daily losses reaching into the hundreds of thousands of euro, organised gangs continuing to operate with confidence, and thousands of incidents logged in a single month, the end-of-season picture is hard to ignore. The data also helps pinpoint where the risk is highest, how thieves most often strike, and which types of goods are most exposed. Poland’s position in the ranking should be a wake-up call to revisit security routines.
Millions lost — and a major raid in Spain
In March 2026, TIS recorded 5,719 newly reported cargo crimes across 51 countries. In 336 cases where victims provided a value for the stolen goods, total losses came to around 18.5 million euro.
That puts the average loss per incident (where the amount was disclosed) at 54,797 euro. For 56 thefts with losses above 100 thousand euro, the average value of the stolen load reached 259,004 euro. The figures also include 33 mid-range cases, with losses between 50 thousand and 100 thousand euro, which together accounted for about two million euro. Across March, criminals were taking goods worth an average of 593,934 euro per day.
The largest single loss was reported from Spain, where a coordinated gang targeted a logistics facility in Toledo on 17 March. A total of 58 vehicles were stolen, with losses estimated at 1.5 million euro — the biggest recorded in the reporting period. Overall, March incidents affected 21 different product categories.
Germany and Italy lead the table; Poland close behind
A country-by-country breakdown shows where cargo theft risk is currently most concentrated. Germany tops the list with 1,295 incidents. Italy follows with 867, and France ranks third with 850 thefts.
The United Kingdom places fourth (761 incidents), while Spain rounds out the top five with 682 crimes.
Just outside the leading group — in sixth place across the EMEA region — is Poland, with 338 recorded crimes. That is more than the Czech Republic (207 incidents), Slovakia (94) and the Netherlands (45). The numbers underline that Central Europe remains an area of intense activity for organised theft groups.
Unsecured stops remain a thief’s favourite hunting ground
The location data reinforces a structural issue: the shortage of secure parking infrastructure. As many as 4,412 incidents — 77.15 percent of all reports — were logged with the location marked as unknown. The remaining categories, however, still draw a clear picture.
A further 400 crimes were linked to unclassified parking areas (6.99 percent). This suggests drivers forced to stop at random exits, lay-bys or unprotected yards face particularly high exposure. By comparison, 288 crimes were recorded at retail sites, 268 at supply-chain origin points, and 236 during transit. Only five incidents were reported at certified secure parking locations.
Curtain slashing still dominates
The way offenders operate remains broadly consistent, with one approach clearly leading. The most frequently reported method was forced entry, logged in 3,681 cases (64.36 percent). In practice, this typically means slashing trailer curtains and quickly checking what is inside.
In 1,549 cases, the method could not be determined. Particularly concerning is the number of incidents involving violence or direct threats to drivers’ life and health — 303 cases (5.30 percent).
Internal wrongdoing — involving employees of transport companies or warehouses — accounted for 136 cases. There were also fraud and impersonation (34 incidents) and deceptive vehicle substitutions (11 cases). Three times, goods were stolen from a moving vehicle.
The most common classifications were theft in general (2,003 cases) and theft from inside a vehicle (1,831). Reports also included 531 thefts of entire trailers, 519 cases involving theft from containers and swap bodies, and 22 thefts of complete heavy goods vehicles.
Belgian enforcement inspections show how targeted checks can uncover serious compliance risks for drivers and operators.
