7 minutes

Dennis Katsnelson

Every week, Borderlands provides an overview of events in the area of cross-border transportation and trade between the United States and Mexico. Present week: Supply chains are moving to border regions, which is changing the patterns in cargo theft. A truck driver is arrested at the border with $12 million worth of cocaine, and a $65 million cold storage facility may be going to Central Texas. Gebrüder Weiss has opened a logistics business in Laredo.

The trucking and logistics businesses suffer losses of up to $1 billion a year as a result of an increase in crimes committed against drivers in the US, Mexico, and Canada.

Cargo theft in the United States has historically been centered at ports and facilities in California, Texas, and Florida. While trucks and transportation hubs in Mexico's central states are frequently targeted, most robberies in Canada take place in the Toronto area. Trade analysts argue that when more firms relocate their operations from Asia to Mexico, Canada, or other border regions in order to profit from shifting supply chains, it may have an impact on the techniques and patterns of cargo thieves.

Karl Fillouer, vice president of sales at Circle Logistics, told Newjob4you, "The criminal element within our industry and really any industry, they know when to exercise against people's vulnerabilities when it comes to the supply chains, specifically for the United States." "Any variation in the volume of freight moving, its associated volume, its location, or the lanes it travels in, along with any increase or decrease in capacity, presents an opportunity for thieves."

Circle Logistics is a full-service logistics firm that is asset-based and was established in 2011 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The corporation operates nine sites in the United States, one of which is in Laredo, Texas. According to Fillouer, fraud, and cargo thefts have increased significantly in the U.S. freight business during the past year. To fool tracking equipment, thieves have been utilizing spoofing software and phony web domains.

"We are witnessing a highly advanced methodology towards fraudulent conduct, which is likely being overseen externally or in a nation other than the United States," Fillouer stated. "This includes setting up fake domains for small and large carriers, in addition to spoofing and tracking software."

During the second quarter, truckload carriers in the United States experienced a dramatic increase in cargo thefts. Theftsters targeted a wide range of items, including construction supplies, food and beverage products, electronics, and electronics. CargoNet, a service provided by Verisk Analytics that monitors voluntarily reported cargo thefts, recorded 566 instances in the United States and 16 in Canada during the second quarter of 2023, a 57% increase year over year. According to Newjob4you, the most prevalent states for cargo thefts were Illinois, Texas, California, and Florida.

Electronics, home and garden products, food and drink supplies, building and industrial materials, and car components were among the shipments that were most frequently targeted. The National Association of Vehicle Tracking and Protection Companies (ANERPV) in Mexico reports that from January to September, 1,280 cargo theft occurrences were reported, or around 142 per month. According to Fillouer, Circle Logistics has had luck in combating cargo thefts by concentrating on standard operating procedures and taking a strong anti-fraud stance.

"I advocate for shippers, who are the actual customers making the shipment, to have access to the carrier during the carrier's freight pickup," Fillouer stated. "More shippers should insist that the equipment that needs to be logged and verified be checked along with the driver's license when the driver arrives."

Shippers, according to Fillouer, should confirm that the vehicle removing a shipment is owned by the carrier with whom it was brokered. A package that was intended to depart Dallas and go to the East Coast was the subject of a recent cargo theft incident that Circle Logistics followed and looked into.

"It began with a little carrier that we frequently utilize. Someone made a bogus domain to impersonate their identity,” according to Fillouer. “They wanted cargo that we had on our load board, so they called us. We're not sure if the individual performing this was still employed by the carrier we use. However, they managed to get us to send them a cargo.”

After dispatching the shipment to the fictitious carrier, Circle Logistics reversed course and brokered the consignment to one of the top 10 U.S. brokerages/carriers, according to Fillouer. The Top 10 broker/carrier then went back and re-broke it to a carrier that was not expecting it. According to Fillouer, it was that carrier who really picked up the freight in Texas and got things going down the road. "They were able to claim themselves as Circle Logistics in order to pick up the freight."

Spoofing software was used by the cargo robbers to manipulate cellphone monitoring, giving the impression that the consignment was traveling to the East Coast, as planned. The shipment was really finally moved to a facility in the vicinity of Los Angeles. According to Fillouer, "the Los Angeles County sheriff's department planned a raid on that warehouse, arrested more than a dozen people, and discovered it was more than half full with all stolen items." "Our bill of lading was located, but the merchandise that was taken from us was lost."

A $65 million cold storage facility could be built in Central Texas-

The town of Lockhart, Texas, just south of Austin, is going to host the construction of a 310,000-square-foot cold storage facility by RealCold, a nationwide provider of cold chains. RealCold executives stated that the Lockhart cold chain facility is designed to accommodate more than 36,000 pallets and is intended to meet the growing needs of their clientele.

RealCold also revealed intentions to construct a 376,000-square-foot cold chain facility in Lakeland, Florida, concurrently with the construction of the Lockhart complex. According to Newjob4you press statement from RealCold CEO Keith Goldsmith, "These next-generation facilities will service 10 million and six million people within 100 miles of Lakeland and Lockhart, respectively, and become a gateway to fulfill refrigerated and frozen products across the southern U.S."

By year's end, RealCold intends to begin building on each of these multi-temperature facilities, with completion anticipated in 2025. Established in 2022, Related Fund Management is supported by the New York-based advising business for real estate asset investments, Related Fund Management.

In Laredo, Gebrüder Weiss launched a logistics business.

Gebrüder Weiss, a transport and logistics company, has erected a 16,146-square-foot warehouse in Laredo. In addition to handling customs clearance and bonded storage at the location, the organization will handle logistics.

Mark McCullough, national manager of Gebrüder Weiss North America, stated, "Our new team is located in Laredo directly at the intersection of two countries, both of which are major trading partners." "Laredo handles up to 40% of the trade between Mexico and the United States."

Additionally, Gebrüder Weiss maintains logistics facilities in El Paso and Dallas, Texas. The business operates ten sites throughout the US. About 8,000 people are employed by Gebrüder Weiss, an Austrian corporation, across 180 company-owned sites throughout 35 countries.

Truck driver stopped at border with $12M in cocaine

According to court filings, a Mexican national is being charged with possessing cocaine with the purpose of distributing it within the United States. On October 4, truck driver Oswaldo Lopez-Escobar drove a tractor-trailer to the Mariposa port of entry in Nogales. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents searched the trailer and discovered 155 parcels that seemed to contain cocaine. The estimated worth of the purported drugs is between $10 and $12 million.

If found guilty, Lopez-Escoabr may be sentenced to life in jail and a fine of $10 million.