Forty-five percent of organizations using active monitoring report recovering more than half of stolen cargo, compared with 30% of organizations relying on passive monitoring, according to Tive’s Cargo Theft Prevention in the Age of AI.
“Cargo theft is becoming harder to catch at the point of pickup. A load can leave looking legitimate, and the first signs of a theft may come while the shipment is already on the move,” says Krenar Komoni, founder and CEO of Tive. “This research shows why in-transit monitoring and a layer-based approach to securing your cargo matters. The sophistication of bad actors has increased dramatically, and with AI it's becoming even harder to catch, whether at pickup or even while on the move with voice impersonations. Using our layered approach, Tive helps save customer shipments; this is becoming the standard way to ship and protect goods.”
Key takeaways:
· 78% changed their cargo security approach in late 2025 or early 2026, while 83% now use AI in cargo security. Among organizations using AI-assisted tools, 80% report either clear, measurable improvement or promising early results.
· 72% of organizations using active monitoring typically respond to an alert or theft indicator within 60 minutes, compared with 55% relying on passive monitoring. 59% confirmed their latest theft within four hours, compared with 44%.
· The difference remains among companies already using AI. Within that group, 48% of organizations using active monitoring report recovering more than half of stolen cargo, compared with 31% relying on passive monitoring. 59% of organizations using active monitoring also confirmed their latest theft within four hours, compared with 42% relying on passive monitoring.
· 53% of organizations who use route deviation alerts report recovering more than half of stolen cargo, compared with 29% of organizations that do not use it, nearly 1.8 times the recovery rate. Among organizations already using active monitoring, the comparison increases to 60% vs. 34%.
· 55% of respondents who could identify the primary method behind their latest theft cited identity-based fraud, spanning traditional identity and fictitious-pickup schemes as well as synthetic or AI-generated identities.
· Nearly one-third of respondents estimate a single cargo theft incident costs at least $100,000, 32% report at least $250,000 in annual cargo theft impact, and 9% report $1 million or more.
· 84% of respondents would trust AI to perform at least one cargo security function autonomously without prior human approval. Three in 10 would allow AI to place a shipment on hold, escalate an alert to law enforcement, or do both. Only 16% say every AI alert or recommendation should require human review before anyone acts on it.
