When a generator, tool, or machine part goes missing, the expense goes far beyond simply buying a new one. In industries that rely heavily on physical assets, lost or stolen equipment can stall projects and force companies to scramble for emergency rentals—making asset tracking an increasingly vital piece of equipment management.
Samsara has published its 2026 State of Connected Operations Asset Theft & Loss Report, which takes a close look at how much equipment theft and loss actually cost large-scale physical operations.
The study, called Quantifying the Hidden Cost of Asset Invisibility, draws on responses from more than 1,500 finance executives working in construction, transportation, field services, utilities, and comparable sectors. Participants were based in the United States, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, and Canada.
Samsara found that large organisations without any asset tracking in place lose roughly US$13.2 million per year on average due to missing equipment. That number reflects both direct and indirect costs—project delays, penalty fees, last-minute rentals, and labour that ends up being wasted.
The report also revealed that equipment theft is a persistent problem for large operations lacking tracking systems. According to Samsara, 71% of these organisations deal with equipment theft every single quarter, and a full quarter of their new equipment budgets goes toward replacing items that were stolen or lost.
Smaller tools and equipment drive the biggest losses
Samsara breaks the affected assets into three groups: small equipment, towable equipment, and heavy machinery. Small equipment covers items like generators, power tools, utility locators, and pumps. Towable and heavy equipment includes air compressors, light towers, excavators, track loaders, tractors, and cranes.
It is the smaller items that generate the majority of the financial pain. While stolen heavy machinery tends to grab headlines, Samsara reported that 72% of the operational costs tied to missing assets actually come from smaller items—things like hand tools, sensors, generators, and specialised components.
These smaller assets travel constantly between job sites, vehicles, storage locations, and different crews. When one disappears, the fallout goes well beyond the price of a replacement—it can mean renting substitute equipment, paying workers who have no tools to work with, making rushed purchases, and missing key project deadlines.
Lost equipment brings work to a halt
The report found that 98% of organisations search for assets either daily or every week. At more than a quarter of companies without real-time visibility, employees spend upwards of 10 hours each week simply trying to track down equipment.
Samsara pointed out that adds up to 520 hours a year—essentially one full-time employee spending around three months annually just hunting for lost items.
Large organisations without asset tracking are 70% more likely to report a seven-figure hit from operational inefficiencies linked to missing equipment compared to those that have a tracking solution in place.
Finding a missing asset can take a long time, too. Organisations without tracking technology need an average of 25 days to locate a missing item—if they manage to find it at all.
Samsara also noted that 54% of organisations without tracking are unable to recover even half of their stolen high-value equipment. Without a digital record, it can be difficult to establish ownership with law enforcement if the asset is eventually located.
The absence of critical equipment has also disrupted ongoing projects. Worldwide, 77% of executives surveyed said a missing essential asset caused a major shutdown or delay at some point in the past year.
Shutdown and delay rates varied by region, from a low of 63% in France to a high of 100% in Ireland.
John Chaccour, Director of Technology at Total Safety, noted in the report that the true impact of a missing asset stretches well beyond replacement cost. He pointed out that delayed workforces, idle staff, and last-minute purchasing decisions pile up over time, ultimately adding up to millions in hidden expenses.
Tracking systems help recover costs
The report showed that organisations using asset tracking experienced significantly lower costs related to missing equipment. Those with tracking systems in place saw a 76% drop in average annual operational costs caused by lost or stolen assets.
Samsara reported that every organisation surveyed using an asset tracking solution said it had recovered the cost of the system, with 95% achieving payback within 18 months. Organisations equipped with asset trackers were also twice as likely to recover stolen assets within the first five days of a loss.
According to the report’s cost-recovery data, 79% of organisations with tracking had recouped their investment by month 12. That figure climbed to 95% by month 16 and reached 100% by month 24.
Insurance savings were another benefit highlighted in the report. Samsara found that 31% of organisations with asset tracking were able to lower their insurance premiums after putting the technology in place.
The report was commissioned by Samsara and carried out by Wakefield Research between February 5 and February 17, 2026. Samsara clarified that survey respondents were not necessarily its own customers, and that global figures were compiled from all responses combined.
(Photo by Craig Vander Galien)
See also: IoT scaling challenges slow deployments at enterprise scale
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