TAPA AMERICAS calls on Senate to advance Combating Organized Retail Crime Act

The Transported Asset Protection Association – Americas (TAPA AMERICAS) today announced it has sent a formal letter of support for H.R. 2853, the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA), to U.S. Senate leadership: Majority Leader John Thune, Minority Leader Charles Schumer, Majority Whip John Barrasso, and Minority Whip Dick Durbin. The letter urges the Senate to advance the legislation, which passed the House with a historic bipartisan 348-60 vote.

"Cargo theft is one of the most underreported crimes in the country, in part because there is no uniform criminal reporting category for it — a stolen load might be recorded as auto theft, a property crime, or a burglary depending on which officer takes the report," said TAPA AMERICAS Chairman Scott Cornell, who authored the bill's cargo theft provisions. "CargoNet's data, which represents the industry's most rigorous tracking effort, captures an estimated fraction of actual incidents. From what I have witnessed firsthand and heard from our membership, cargo theft incident rates are 10-15 times higher than what gets reported to CargoNet. That's a sample size of a very big problem."

The data that does exist paints a stark picture. Cargo theft incidents rose 93% between 2021 and 2024. Strategic theft — the most sophisticated and costly form — surged 1,475% in the same period. TAPA AMERICAS membership has grown more than 30% for three consecutive years, driven by companies across every sector of the supply chain seeking protection.

"If cargo theft weren't a real and escalating crisis, states wouldn't be standing up task forces, carriers and brokers wouldn't be calling us saying they're on the verge of going out of business, and the House wouldn't have passed this bill with nearly 350 votes," Cornell said.

CORCA would establish the federal tracking mechanisms needed to understand the full scope of cargo theft in the United States. Further, it would create a dedicated multi-agency task force, designate federal prosecutors focused exclusively on organized cargo crime, and create critical information-sharing pathways between the private sector and federal law enforcement.

The bill underwent rigorous committee review, earned unanimous approval from the House Judiciary Committee, and passed the House with one of the broadest bipartisan margins of any public safety legislation in recent memory. That level of consensus does not happen by accident — it reflects a shared, carefully vetted understanding that the legislation targets organized criminal enterprises, protecting legitimate commerce and civil liberties.

The letter of support was also signed by the chairmen of five U.S. Regional Supply Chain Security Councils: the Southwest, Northeast, Midwest, and Southeast Supply Chain Security Councils, and the Western States Cargo Theft Association.