On the heels of the recently issued joint warning on fake carrier fraud and cargo crime risks issued by IUMI and TAPA EMEA, it is timely to review preliminary cargo theft data released for 2025 and examine methods to combat the rising trends, especially strategic theft and fraud.
While CargoNet reports total theft incidents to be down 6%, the average value has increased by more than 30% in 2025. Total estimated losses in US & Canada for 2025 is approximately US$725million.
Fortunately, there are both reactive and proactive measures to counter this issue. Some would argue that higher liability limits or risk transfer to brokers and carriers are necessary. On the legislative side, harsher sentences for cargo criminals have been necessary for years, though are just now increasing in visibility.
On the proactive side, recommendations for vetting carriers and drivers are clear. In the US, workers need a TWIC (Transportation Workers Identification Credential) to obtain unescorted access to secure areas of maritime facilities. In 2025 REAL ID-compliant identification became required for domestic air travel. Blockchain technology emerged in 2009 but is still not widely adopted in transportation & logistics. After initial excitement in the late 2010s and several promising initiatives, most faltered due to lack of critical mass adoption.
The obstacles to managing safe transportation are multiple and connected:
- Cost of cargo security resources, while constantly becoming more affordable, is often an economic pressure point that supply chain procurement cannot ignore.
- Complex legal and regulatory environment that typically spans multiple jurisdictions (including privacy laws).
- Cargo crime enforcement is often a challenge due to funding, availability and light sentences for cargo criminals.
- Verifiable documentation for carriers is perhaps the fastest growing issue in the industry – without appropriate readers/scanners, facilities cannot verify whether ID is counterfeit, expired or revoked.
Fortunately, solutions exist though the most effective are not necessarily the most accessible. Unless we go back to Roman Tessera Hospitalis or torn playing cards, secure ID cards and scanners to read them are essential. A renewed focus on blockchain technology – potentially in combination with IoT devices and AI algorithms – must be supplemented by proactive human intervention
The time is ripe for the transportation and logistics industry to outplay the criminals. Beneficial cargo owners and their insurers also have a vested interest to encourage and support adoption of new security measures.
Credit to: CargoNet
