Fight Rising Catalytic Converter Theft

ISSUE
Catalytic converters are being stolen at increasingly higher rates due to their valuable metals, such as rhodium, platinum and palladium. Thieves can easily steal catalytic converters from unattended vehicles, and since catalytic converters are not readily traceable, there is a lucrative market for these stolen parts. These thefts are costing millions of dollars to businesses and individual vehicle owners alike. In addition, replacing a catalytic converter is costly and often difficult due to the part’s skyrocketing demand and supply chain shortages. Congress should pass the “Preventing Auto Recycling Theft Act” (PART Act), H.R. 621/S. 154, which would help law enforcement combat catalytic converter theft by marking catalytic converters and creating a more transparent market that deters its theft. 


BACKGROUND

As required by the Clean Air Act, catalytic converters reduce toxic emissions from internal combustion engine vehicles. Valuable precious metals in the catalytic converter remove toxic elements from the exhaust gases as they exit the vehicle. The price of these precious metals rose sharply during the pandemic, making catalytic converters a prime target for theft. The number of catalytic converter thefts increased by nearly 900% between 2019 and 2023. Stolen catalytic converters can garner anywhere from $20 to $350 on the black market, with the replacement cost to vehicle owners averaging over $2,500.

Catalytic converters are easy to steal, but generally very difficult to trace to a specific vehicle, allowing them to be sold on the black market. The lack of traceable identifying marks makes the theft of catalytic converters difficult to curb. Thefts of catalytic converters have also turned violent, and recently in a highly publicized tragedy, a soap opera actor lost his life after confronting thieves stealing his converter. Several states have enacted laws to combat this crime, including Minnesota which created a grant program to etch vehicle identification numbers (VINs) onto catalytic converters, and North Carolina which made catalytic converter theft a felony. However, because this crime frequently involves trafficking stolen parts across state lines, a federal framework is needed to aid the efforts of local law enforcement. 

The PART Act includes a $7 million grant program through which certain entities can voluntarily stamp VINs, or other identifiers, onto the catalytic converters of vehicles already on the road at no cost to vehicle owners. Dealers are specifically eligible to utilize this grant program. The bill also requires new vehicles to have unique, traceable identifying numbers stamped on catalytic converters at the time of assembly. Additionally, the bill increases record keeping requirements for purchasers and establishes a federal criminal penalty for the theft, sale, trafficking or known purchase of stolen catalytic converters of up to five years in jail.