"Hijacked trucks and trailers are no longer simply economic losses; now, they may be direct threats to our security," said Chrestman, appearing before the U.S. Senate’s Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. "We have implemented many security measures to combat cargo theft, but without some fundamental changes in the law, these measures cannot be fully successful."

Chrestman added that relaxed penalties and insufficient resources devoted to cargo theft have made it increasingly appealing to criminal elements as a source of funding. Further, some of the goods carried on behalf of U.S. producers and manufacturers may be diverted for sinister purposes, he warned.

That’s a major concern when it comes to transporting hazardous materials, Chrestman explained. Annually in the U.S., he said, there are at least 300-million hazmat shipments totaling approximately 3.2-billion tons. There are an estimated 800,000 hazmat shipments in the U.S. each day, with 94% of such shipments carried by truck, he said.

The American Trucking Assns. has suggested a range of options to reduce cargo theft and potential security problems. Those efforts include increasing the criminal penalties and fines for cargo theft, requiring uniform statistical reporting on cargo theft, and providing increased funding to local, state, and federal multi-jurisdictional task forces that have proven effective in combating cargo theft.

Also, The Truck Renting and Leasing Assn. (TRALA) recently established a security task force to assist TRALA staff in guiding policy relating to security matters involving rented and leased trucks.