Week in Review: Tracking Blind Spots, Cargo Thefts & Pricey Piglets

The supply chain had quite the week—from visibility black holes to border battles. First, our State of Visibility 2025 report exposed some industry blind spots: 37% of companies lose track of shipments mid-shipment, and 60% discover damage too late. Meanwhile, cargo thieves have graduated from truck stops to cyberspace, prompting Senate hearings on a $30 billion problem. Pharma companies also debate bringing manufacturing home from overseas; Trump’s 25% tariffs wreak havoc on Canadian farmers; and one bold fraudster’s $1.5 million cargo-stealing scheme ends precisely how you’d expect: in handcuffs. We’ve got some stories to tell!

Seeing is Believing (and 37% of Companies are Flying Blind): Our 2025 State of Visibility Report Reveals All  

Our fourth-annual State of Visibility report reveals a shocking truth: 37% of companies are shipping blind—with zero visibility of their cargo in transit. Despite record real-time tracking tech adoption, 60% only discover shipment damage after delivery… or never at all. And that only scratches the surface.

The Freight Twilight Zone: Where 37% of Shipments Mysteriously Vanish

We’ve identified the exact moment visibility turns into a horror movie for most—the middle mile. Your products leave the warehouse with all the tracking bells and whistles, then enter logistics limbo during transport—only to dramatically reappear at delivery after facing risks including delays, damage, and cargo theft. Sure, first- and last-mile tracking has improved noticeably, but that middle stretch remains a sticking point.  

The Visibility Awakening

Companies are investing heavily in technology: IoT adoption is up to 60% (from 55% last year), and AI implementation has jumped from 35% to 45%. But the lesson is clear: data alone isn’t enough; you need actionable insights when they matter. With 60% of respondents citing theft prevention as their primary reason for visibility investments, the focus is evolving. The smartest companies aren’t just tracking yesterday’s failures—they’re preventing tomorrow’s disasters, with 35% now using visibility data for sustainability initiatives like carbon tracking and fuel-efficient routing.  

Uncle Sam’s $30 Billion Heist Headache: Senate Takes on Cargo Crooks

That “lost in transit” update? More like “professionally pilfered.” When the Senate Commerce Subcommittee summoned freight experts on February 27 to address America’s $15 - $30 billion cargo theft epidemic, Sen. Todd Young didn’t mince words: “Grand theft cargo.”  

Digital Bandits: How Pandemic Chaos Created Cyber Heists

Forget breaking locks—modern cargo crooks prefer breaking firewalls. When pandemic shipping costs skyrocketed 1,371% ($1,400 to $20,600), strategic cargo theft entered the mix as desperate retailers embraced sketchy brokers. And these bad actors have come a long way: today’s heist artists buy carrier credentials online, create phantom companies, and ghost away with million-dollar loads. Take the story of Tanager Logistics. iI found its corporate identity stolen on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) website, and the agency couldn’t do anything about it. 

Your Wallet Feels the Pain When Freight Disappears

Your wallet bears the cost of every heist—from sticker shock to vanishing deliveries. Academy Sports and Outdoors’ Rob Howell put it bluntly: theft means you pay more for products that increasingly never arrive. Meanwhile, truckers’ association rep Lewie Pugh warned of a dangerous aftershock: bankrupted small carriers push experienced drivers off roads, replacing them with rookies. The proposed fix? Witnesses urged Congress to strengthen the FMCSA and back two bills: the Safeguarding Our Supply Chains Act and the Household Goods Shipping Consumer Protection Act.

Homegrown Pills: Pharma’s Tug-of-War Between Profits & Proximity

American pharma fled overseas years ago, but COVID-19 revealed the perils of long-distance relationships. With domestic drug production in free fall since the mid-2010s, companies now face a geographical gut check: keep manufacturing in far-flung factories vulnerable to pandemics and political tantrums, or pay the premium for a North American address?

The North American Prescription: Mexico’s Middle-Ground Appeal

Big pharma giants haven’t abandoned their Chinese, Indian, and Irish manufacturing hubs yet. Yet, they’re increasingly curious about options closer to home for better control and resilience. While startups and smaller firms lead the American manufacturing renaissance, larger players are exploring Mexico as the Goldilocks solution—not as expensive as the U.S., but close enough to dodge oceanic supply chain risks. The Biden administration did sweeten the pot with funding for domestic production, yet tax structures and facility costs remain stumbling blocks—along with a new administration.  

Profit Pills: Why Your Medications Probably Won’t Get “Made in USA” Stickers

The math remains stubborn: making pills overseas is a more profitable operation, period. Many vital ingredients are only available overseas, and generic drugs survive on very thin margins—and China and India offer cheaper talent and budget-friendly factories that American soil simply can’t match. Sure, some patients might pay extra for “Made in the USA” on their pill bottles, but complete reshoring would balloon prices beyond what global markets would swallow. Trade wars and pandemic flashbacks keep North American production tempting, but all-American pharma remains the industry’s favorite fantasy—lovely to imagine, and practically unaffordable. 

Border Battles: Trump’s Tariff Tantrum Splits Farm Families

Piglet politics are here. Trump’s 25% tariffs upended decades of friendly food trade, prompting Canada’s retaliatory taxes on CA$30 billion in goods (with another CA$125 billion coming next month). Farmer John Nickel’s bizarre reality? His 3,000 piglets at the start of the week crossed the border tax-free but by Thursday triggered tariffs. “This is the biggest challenge we’ve ever faced, and I’ve been doing this for over 20 years,” he grunted.

Corn-Fed Complications

The data tells a one-sided love story—Canada sends 76% of exports southward while the U.S. only returns 20% of the affection. Manitoba’s piglets grow fat in Iowa cornfields before becoming American bacon, while 95% of Alberta’s spinach comes from sun-soaked Arizona farms. When Mother Nature gives you six months of snow, you don’t grow oranges—you import 67% of your vegetables and 36% of fruits from warmer neighbors. Geography created these partnerships, economics cemented them, and now politics threatens to divorce them—armed with a stack of customs paperwork and a 25% relationship tax.

The Strawberry Situation

Try finding non-American strawberries that don’t look like sad, squished cousins of the real thing: Montreal produce dealer George Pitsikoulis has tried and failed. His California truck orders arrive fresh in 72 hours, while Spanish oranges take a month long Mediterranean cruise to reach Canadian tables. Even Mexican lemons must first vacation in American warehouses, collecting that same 25% surcharge along the way. Yet, Igor Rikalo, president of o9 Solutions Inc., offers food for thought: “It took us years to globalize, extend, and integrate these very long supply chains. It’ll probably take years to shrink them down.”  

Trucker in Trouble: Man Busted with $1.5 Million in Cargo After Double-Brokering Bamboozle

One Canadian man learned the hard way that crime doesn’t pay—especially when you steal $1.5 million worth of stuff that’s hard to hide. Manjinder Singh Bura, a 41-year-old Brampton resident, got slapped with handcuffs after allegedly running a freight heist operation that would make “Fast & Furious” writers jealous. His company, All Days Trucking, should have been named No Days Left Without Charges after victims reported suspicious activity to Peel Regional Police in December 2024 and January 2025.   

The Great Disappearing Act: Now You See Your Cargo, Now You Don’t!

Bura’s alleged scam was like a magic trick—except nobody clapped at the end. He’d allegedly spot juicy freight deals online, swoop in with discount rates that screamed “too good to be true,” then dispatch various trucking companies to pick up the goods. Playing the perfect dispatcher, he’d keep victims on the hook through Dispatch@Alldaytrucking.com and a rotating carousel of phone numbers. Then—POOF!—on delivery day, he’d vanish. The digital trail led investigators to Bura Limited Inc., prompting a February 19 raid that hit six trucking yards and Bura’s home.

Cargo Kingpin to Jailhouse Rookie 

Police hit the jackpot during the February raid after recovering $1.5 million worth of “borrowed” cargo and trailers. Now, Bura’s resume includes five counts of theft over $5,000, five counts of fraud over $5,000, and one count of possession of property obtained by crime—with more charges likely coming. His double-brokering scheme—stealing cargo after posing as a legitimate carrier—proves once again that if a trucking deal sounds like winning the lottery, you might actually be funding someone else’s rainfall.  

See Everything. Solve Anything.

When 37% of companies ship blind and criminals steal $30 billion in cargo, it’s not just statistics—it’s your business at risk. Whether it’s vanishing shipments or tariff troubles, every challenge shares one solution: real-time shipment visibility. Why join the “surprised by damage” club when prevention is possible? Why play cargo detective when certainty is just a tracking system away?

Arm yourself with innovation: let Tive lead the way in transforming your supply chain operations. Embrace the future of logistics—get started with Tive today.