This summer, in two incidents, thieves reportedly struck escort vehicles and stole a total of $23 million in data center equipment from transports bound for Georgia and Texas.
The high-value thefts appear to be part of a new national trend.
Here's what to know
Losses involving data center freight thefts have surpassed $100 million in the U.S., NBC News reported. And threats of more may be rising as data centers — the facilities that power artificial intelligence, cloud infrastructure, and streaming operations — expand across the country and around the world.
Two of the biggest known cases involved a trailer bound for Georgia carrying $13 million in server hardware in June and another weeks later transporting roughly $10 million in server rack parts set for Texas.
In the first case, NBC described how one car seemed to intentionally strike a vehicle escorting the expensive cargo, "forcing it to stop" as the trailer carrying the gear "sped away."
Nearly a month later, the outlet reported, a similar situation played out with data center equipment bound from California for Texas.
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The thefts appear to begin with thieves essentially hacking freight brokers' digital accounts on shipment-listing sites, using bogus loads to attract interest, and then hijacking the responding company's account if someone clicks.
A legitimate driver may pick up the freight at the start of the transport without realizing the shipment has already been compromised, or an accomplice may use counterfeit identification.
More background
Rather than chasing random freight, the thieves appear to be targeting a narrow set of costly components, including server hardware, fiber-optic cable, memory chips, copper wiring, and bitcoin-mining equipment.
In Illinois, for example, the Cook County Sheriff's Office estimated that two stolen freight loads contained roughly $300,000 in copper wire spools plus about $1 million in custom-made modular power equipment for data centers, according to NBC.
Two stolen trailers containing more than a $1.3 million in products were recovered by the Sheriff's Police Organized Retail Crime Unit. On June 18, investigators received information that a trailer containing about $300,000 in copper wire that had been reported stolen in Pine Hill, Alabama was tracking in the 2500 block of East Higgins Road in unincorporated Elk Grove Township. When they arrived at the truck yard, they found the trailer with the copper wire inside. They also saw the trailer had Indiana plates, which they learned that the plates had been reported stolen in Wisconsin. The truckyard owner told investigators the same person who delivered that trailer dropped off another one the week prior. Investigators contacted the second trailer's owner and learned that one had been reported stolen in Jacksonville, Florida on June 10. It contained about $1 million in infrastructure equipment for data centers. Investigators are working to identify the driver and anyone else who may have been involved in these thefts. #CookCountySheriff #LawEnforcement #CCSPD
— Cook County Sheriff's Office (@CookSheriffIL) June 25, 2026
Investigators told the outlet that buyers abroad are sometimes lined up in advance, especially in places with limited access to advanced U.S. technology.
But because some thefts involve mixed loads — or an array of goods — the disruptions may reach far beyond AI companies and cloud infrastructure to impact retail.
In one Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department case cited by NBC, recovered goods included cooling equipment headed to Deepcool AI, along with nicotine pouches, TVs, shoes, printers, speakers, and skin care products.
What's being done?
States hit by major thefts have set up dedicated task forces to trace missing loads, while lawmakers weigh bolstering the federal response to theft rings operating overseas.
Those aiming to tackle the problem will likely need to focus on criminal tactics involving hacked accounts, diverted loads, GPS spoofing, and fake IDs.
Keith Lewis of risk-assessment firm Verisk CargoNet suggested it will be essential to address the rise in thefts of data center equipment, telling NBC it's "like stealing pure gold bars," and "it's so much easier to steal this than to rob a bank."
Where can I learn more?
The effects of data center growth and equipment theft are showing up far beyond shipping routes:
• In Calallen, residents pushed back as a $19.6 billion lease fueled a Texas data center plan.
• Across Texas, 12 major gas projects are being built to power expanding data centers.
• In Texas and New Mexico, AI data centers are threatening multimillion-dollar local climate plans.
• In New York, businesses lost cooling after rooftop thefts triggered more than $55,000 in repairs.
• At a Sydney shopping center, suspected copper theft left EV chargers with slashed cords.
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