Mexico’s cargo-theft problem did not let up through the third quarter, with thieves leaning on tighter coordination and faster takedowns of over-the-road freight. That trend — identified by industry reporting — is converging with heavier flows tied to nearshoring, leaving carriers operating through the country’s central corridors balancing strong demand with higher security overhead.
The past 72 hours offered a stark, real‑time snapshot of how those risks materialize on key lanes. On Sunday, Sept. 28, state and federal authorities in Guanajuato traced a highway hijacking along Federal Highway 57 to a nearby warehouse, recovering two tractors and 1,440 boxes of video-game merchandise worth roughly 13.68 million pesos. The load originated in Monterrey and was bound for Mexico City — a north–south run that cuts through one of the country’s hottest theft corridors. The incident underscores how quickly stolen freight can be offloaded into stash sites just off mainline routes.
Two days earlier, Guanajuato’s public security ministry reported the recovery of a Kenworth straight truck in Celaya hauling 11 metric tons of copper sulfate, a commodity with ready resale channels in agriculture. Investigators flagged the truck’s open door and fresh stripping marks before confirming it as a theft; the 446 bags of product (about 223,850 pesos in value) were secured and turned over to prosecutors. For fleets, the case is another reminder that thieves are not only chasing high‑value electronics — they also target industrial and agrochemical inputs that move in steady volumes and are easy to fence.
Meanwhile, updated national context reinforces where risk is densest. Freshly surfaced figures from a 2024 annual analysis show Puebla remained Mexico’s top state for truck‑cargo theft last year, edging up to 23% of cases, with the State of Mexico close behind at 22%. That concentration mirrors what many U.S.–Mexico carriers see on the ground: exposure spikes on the Veracruz–Mexico City (MEX‑150D) and Mexico City–Querétaro–Bajío axes, especially at dusk and early morning changeovers. Planning linehauls that minimize dwell on those stretches — and pairing drivers with vetted, secure yards — remains decisive.
What it means for trucking operations:
– Tighten the “first 200 miles/first 4 hours” rule on Mexico City–Bajío–Monterrey lanes; the Guanajuato recovery shows how quickly stolen freight gets dispersed if early stops create windows.
– Treat “everyday” commodities as high‑risk. The Celaya seizure highlights how chemical and industrial loads are squarely in thieves’ crosshairs, not just electronics or pharmaceuticals.
– Revisit route design through Puebla and the State of Mexico. Even as national security deployments ebb and flow, the risk concentration in those states persists and should drive decisions on staging, rest breaks and escorting.
Bottom line: The quarter’s theft surge isn’t just a statistic — it’s showing up as rapid, choreographed interdictions near highway choke points, with stolen goods quickly funneled into nearby warehouses. Carriers that build in layered visibility, secure parking, disciplined no‑stop zones and rapid incident response — and that coordinate closely with shippers on Mexico‑specific SOPs — will be best positioned to keep Q4 freight moving without hemorrhaging margin to loss events.
Sources: FreightWaves, Gobierno del Estado de Guanajuato, Infobae México
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