It's the call every shipper dreads. The delivery window has passed. The consignee hasn't received the freight. The carrier isn't answering their phone. Your $150,000 shipment has vanished.

What you do in the first 24 hours after discovering a cargo loss determines whether you recover the freight, collect insurance, and have legal recourse — or whether the loss becomes permanent. Here's the playbook.

Hour 0-2: Confirm the Loss

Before you sound the alarm, confirm that the freight is actually missing and not just delayed.

Contact the carrier directly. Call the phone number on file with the FMCSA, not the number the broker gave you. If the carrier answers, ask for the driver's last known location and load status. If the carrier doesn't answer or claims they never accepted the load, the situation just escalated.

Contact your broker. If you used a broker, notify them immediately. Ask for the carrier's dispatch confirmation, driver name, truck number, and last known GPS location. Ask the broker to contact the carrier and driver through their dispatch channels.

Contact the consignee. Confirm that the freight hasn't arrived and wasn't received by a different department, at a different dock, or at an alternate delivery location.

Check tracking data. If the carrier uses ELD or GPS tracking, check the last recorded position. If tracking stopped at an unexpected location — a truck stop, an industrial park, a residential area — that's a theft indicator.

If you confirm that the freight is unaccounted for and the carrier is non-responsive, treat it as a potential theft and activate the full response.

Hour 2-6: Activate Your Response

File a police report. File a theft report with the law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction where the freight was last known to be. This is a legal prerequisite for most insurance claims and is necessary if the case is eventually investigated. Get the report number and the investigating officer's name.

Report to CargoNet or FreightWatch. These organizations track cargo theft nationally and can issue alerts to law enforcement and recovery networks. Early reporting increases recovery rates.

Notify your insurance carrier. Contact your cargo insurance carrier (or the carrier's insurance, if you're filing against their policy) as soon as possible. Most policies have notification deadlines — typically 24-72 hours from discovery of loss. Missing this deadline can jeopardize your claim.

Preserve all documentation. Gather and secure everything:

Bill of lading (signed and unsigned copies)
Rate confirmation
Carrier contact information (all phone numbers, emails, addresses)
Broker communications
Carrier's FMCSA registration details (DOT, MC, insurance on file)
GPS/tracking data
Driver identification documents
Photos of the truck, trailer, and driver at pickup (if available)
Proof of freight value (purchase orders, invoices, packing lists)

This documentation will be critical for insurance claims, law enforcement investigation, and potential legal action. Collect it now while it's fresh and available.

Hour 6-24: Investigation and Recovery Efforts

Verify the carrier's identity. Pull the carrier's FMCSA records. Compare the DOT number, company name, and address against what was provided at booking. If there's a mismatch, you may be dealing with identity theft or a fraudulent carrier — which changes the investigation approach.

Check the carrier's current status. Has the carrier's operating authority been revoked or suspended since you qualified them? Has their insurance lapsed? This information affects both the investigation and your legal options.

Cooperate with law enforcement. Share all documentation with the investigating officer. Cargo theft cases often cross jurisdictions, so the initial report may need to be supplemented with reports in other jurisdictions where the freight may have been taken.

Engage your legal counsel. If the loss is significant, involve an attorney experienced in freight claims early. They can advise on:

Carmack Amendment claims against the carrier
Broker liability under 49 CFR 371.3
Insurance coverage disputes
Recovery of consequential damages

Notify your customer. Communicate honestly about the situation, what you know, and what you're doing about it. Provide an estimated timeline for replacement shipment if applicable. The customer relationship is at stake, and transparency performs better than silence.

After the First 24 Hours

Follow up on the insurance claim. Your insurer will assign an adjuster. Cooperate fully. Provide all requested documentation promptly. Delays in documentation slow the claims process.

Arrange replacement freight. Your customer still needs the product. Source replacement inventory and arrange expedited shipping. Document these costs — they may be recoverable as consequential damages depending on your insurance coverage and legal claims.

Conduct a post-incident review. After the immediate crisis is managed, review how the loss occurred and what your organization can do differently:

Was the carrier properly qualified at the time of dispatch?
Was the carrier's identity verified at pickup?
Were there red flags that were missed?
Does your carrier qualification process need to be updated?

Update your approved carrier list. Remove the carrier involved in the loss. If the loss resulted from a broker's failure to vet the carrier, review your broker relationship and consider adding carrier approval requirements to your broker contract.

Prevention Is Cheaper Than Recovery

Cargo theft recovery rates are low. According to industry data, less than 20% of stolen freight is recovered, and recovered freight is often damaged or partial. The average unrecovered cargo theft loss exceeds $100,000.

The carrier qualification and verification steps that take 15 minutes before a shipment are vastly cheaper than the response that takes weeks after a loss. Checking a carrier's FMCSA records, verifying their identity with a callback, and confirming the pickup driver matches the dispatched carrier — these simple steps prevent the majority of strategic cargo theft.

The freight you don't lose is the freight you don't have to recover.