Stolen Load? What to Do in the First 48 Hours

A trailer that should have arrived this morning has not. The driver is not answering, the tracking went dark, or the receiver says the truck that picked up the freight was never theirs. Cargo theft is at record levels nationally, and Southern California, from the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach through the Inland Empire, is its epicenter. What you do in the first 48 hours often decides whether the loss is recovered, covered, or eaten. Here is the checklist we walk clients through.

Hour one: confirm what actually happened

Not every missing load is stolen. Before you escalate, verify with the driver, the carrier's dispatch, and the broker: was the load misdelivered, double-booked, delayed, or held over a payment dispute? Pull the tracking and ELD data while it is fresh. If the pickup was made by a truck or driver that does not match the carrier you hired, or the "carrier" has stopped answering entirely, treat it as a theft and move immediately.

Report it everywhere that matters

1. Police. File a report in the jurisdiction where the load was picked up or last confirmed. Get the report number; every insurer will ask for it.
2. Your insurer. Give notice under every potentially applicable policy right away: motor truck cargo, shipper's interest, and any contingent cargo coverage. Late notice is one of the most common coverage fights, and it is entirely avoidable.
3. The broker and carrier, in writing. Put every party in the chain on written notice of the loss the same day. Polite, factual, dated.
4. Fraud channels. If the theft involved a fictitious pickup, carrier identity theft, or a double brokering scheme, report it to the FMCSA and the FBI's tip line, and flag the incident to the load boards involved. It will not bring the load back by itself, but it creates a record that helps your civil case and sometimes helps investigators connect your loss to a ring.

Preserve the paper before it disappears

The winning evidence in stolen load cases is almost always assembled in the first week: the rate confirmation, the bill of lading, the load board posting and the carrier's profile as it appeared that day, the carrier packet and insurance certificate you were given, every email and text with the dispatcher and driver, GPS and ELD data, and dock or gate camera footage (which many facilities overwrite within days). Screenshot everything. If a fraudster impersonated a real carrier, the small differences between the real company's contact details and the imposter's are often the whole case.

Start the Carmack clock working for you

If an interstate motor carrier had your freight, the Carmack Amendment makes the carrier liable for the actual loss, and theft is generally no excuse: courts do not treat thieves as one of the narrow causes that let a carrier off the hook. But the claim process has teeth. Most bills of lading require a written claim within nine months, and suit within two years after a denial. File the written claim early and properly documented rather than waiting for the investigation to wrap up. Our Carmack Amendment and cargo claims page explains how liability and the deadlines work in detail.

Figure out who actually had your load

Liability turns on what really happened at the dock:

1. A legitimate carrier was robbed. The carrier is usually still liable under Carmack, and its motor truck cargo policy is the first recovery target, subject to any enforceable limitation of liability.
2. A fictitious pickup or identity theft. The thief was never your carrier. The questions become whether the broker vetted the carrier it selected, whose procedures failed, and which insurance responds. Negligent carrier selection claims against brokers live here.
3. A double brokered load. Your freight was handed to a party you never approved. The re-brokering party, the original carrier, and their insurers all belong in the conversation, and the contracts decide who bears the loss.

Sorting this out quickly matters because each path points at different defendants, different policies, and different deadlines.

What not to do

Do not sign a quick release or accept a small "goodwill" payment before you understand the full loss and every liable party. Do not let the broker's "we are investigating" emails run out the claim deadlines; the nine month window does not pause while people investigate. And do not assume the loss is simply uninsured because one carrier's policy has a theft exclusion; in most stolen load cases more than one policy is in play.

Talk to a Los Angeles cargo claims attorney

The Darvish Firm represents shippers, consignees, carriers, and brokers in stolen load and cargo claim disputes throughout Los Angeles and Southern California. If a load has gone missing, call (310) 677-3512 or request a consultation, and move fast. The first 48 hours belong to whoever uses them.

This article is general information about California and federal law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case depends on its facts. Consult an attorney about your specific situation.