Semi-trailer with $15M in Apple products, semiconductors stolen in Nevada

Date: Category:US Views:3 Comment:0
Black-and-white security photo of a truck trailer at night at a warehouse.

A truck shipment managed by Ceva Logistics and containing about $15 million worth of Apple products and semiconductors was stolen earlier this month in Reno, Nevada, and remains under investigation, according to authorities and a source familiar with the case.

Detectives are actively investigating the theft of a semi-trailer containing electronics, which occurred July 3, the Reno Police Department said in a news release. “The manager arrived to find that a company trailer that was loaded with merchandise had been stolen. Total loss is unknown,” the department said in an initial statement about the crime.

Ceva Logistics, one of the largest third-party logistics providers in the world, dispatched a truck to deliver the load from one of its facilities in Sacramento, California, to Sierra Airfreight Express in Reno, a person with close knowledge of the case told FreightWaves. The source was not named because of the sensitive nature of an ongoing investigation.

The suspects drove a tractor onto the Sierra lot, hooked up to the Ceva Logistics trailer and drove off. The trailer was recovered several days later in Madera, California, with all of its contents gone.

A person who answered the phone at Sierra Airfreight Express, a small truckload carrier serving northern Nevada and northern California, said employees were instructed not to discuss the case.

The Ceva truck arrived at a non-secure Sierra warehouse, with no fencing or guards, after normal business hours when no employees were on site, the source said.

The cargo theft raises questions about what security protocols Ceva Logistics followed to protect a high-value load and how criminals knew to target the vehicle.

Last year, cargo crimes increased to an all-time high of more than $1 billion, up 27% from 2023, according to theft prevention company CargoNet. Annual cargo theft losses are expected to rise another 22% by the end of 2025.

The U.S. averaged 185 reported cargo thefts per month, a rate of six per day in 2024, up from 4 per day in 2023, according to supply chain security firm Overhaul. Stealing full truckloads remained criminals’ most popular tactic in 2024, comprising nearly two-thirds of total thefts in Canada and the U.S. Electronics was the most targeted product type in both countries.

Insider-involved cargo theft is on the rise, according to BSI Consulting and CargoNet says warehouses are the top location targeted by thieves.

Ceva Logistics declined to comment and Apple did not respond to inquiries about the stolen load.

Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.

Write to Eric Kulisch at [email protected].

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The post Semi-trailer with $15M in Apple products, semiconductors stolen in Nevada appeared first on FreightWaves.

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