AfA urges Congress to pass cargo theft bill
The Airforwarders Association is calling on lawmakers to include the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act in the final National Defense Authorization Act.
David King, AB&M Logistics, Chair of the AfA’s Cargo Theft Committee & Steve Smith, Chief Executive Officer, Airforwarders Association.
Following the recent midterm elections in the United States, the Airforwarders Association (AfA) is strongly urging the US House of Representatives to secure the inclusion of the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA) within the finalised Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
As lawmakers return to Washington, D.C., the air freight and logistics sectors are pushing for a decisive legislative response to the escalating crisis of organised cargo theft. The NDAA, which is passed on an annual basis to establish defence and overarching spending priorities, is frequently utilised by lawmakers as a vehicle to advance critical, bipartisan measures that might otherwise stall in standard legislative traffic.
Given the overwhelming support for CORCA, which successfully passed the House of Representatives by a definitive 348 to 60 margin earlier this year in May, industry advocates believe the NDAA is the most viable and immediate mechanism to enact this crucial legislation. The primary objective is to deliver a robust, coordinated federal response to the growing threat of organised cargo theft and freight fraud.
“Congress has already shown overwhelming bipartisan support for tackling organized cargo crime, and the job now is to turn that support into law,” said Steve Smith, Chief Executive Officer, Airforwarders Association.
“Forwarders are dealing with organized criminal networks that operate across state lines and exploit gaps between jurisdictions, so this is an issue where Republicans and Democrats should continue working together to give law enforcement and legitimate businesses the tools to root them out.”
If enacted, CORCA would officially establish an Organized Retail and Supply Chain Crime Coordination Center, which would be housed within Homeland Security Investigations. The centre's primary mandate would be to fortify information sharing and strategic coordination connecting federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies with stakeholders in the private sector.
Freight forwarding businesses have faced an increasingly volatile landscape over the last several years. Organised cargo crime has evolved significantly beyond simple, opportunistic theft. Today, criminal networks are highly sophisticated, frequently employing digital tactics such as fraudulent pickups, strategic carrier impersonation, and complex identity fraud. These illicit activities inflict severe financial damage on logistics providers, disrupt vital supply chains, and ultimately drive up costs for global commerce.
Throughout the past year, the AfA has proactively elevated its members' pressing concerns directly to lawmakers on Capitol Hill. The association has facilitated numerous meetings with congressional offices, strongly supported the broader legislative coalition championing CORCA, and actively generated platforms for members to articulate their firsthand experiences. These ongoing discussions highlight exactly how commercial vulnerabilities are being exploited by criminal enterprises and how these disruptions affect their day-to-day operations and profitability.
This vital advocacy work is heavily reinforced by the AfA’s Cargo Theft Committee. The committee serves as an essential forum that brings together various members to pool their intelligence, scrutinise supply chain vulnerabilities, and collaboratively formulate practical, ground-level responses to the surge in freight crime across the nation.
“Forwarders are seeing how sophisticated these crimes have become and how difficult they can be to investigate when activity crosses jurisdictions,” said David King of AB&M Logistics, and Chair of the AfA’s Cargo Theft Committee.
“The industry can help by sharing what is happening on the ground, but we also need law enforcement agencies to be able to act on it.
“CORCA is an opportunity to improve that coordination and give legitimate businesses a stronger federal partner in tackling organized cargo crime.”
Moving forward, the AfA has confirmed it will continue working diligently with lawmakers from both parties, as well as its various coalition partners, while Congress deliberates over the final provisions of the NDAA. For the freight forwarding industry, the passage of CORCA represents a critical step toward safeguarding the integrity of global and domestic supply chains against increasingly organised criminal threats.
