How Highway Is Fighting Cargo Theft With Identity Verification
Get tomorrow's supply chain signal
Daily supply-chain brief. Free, unsubscribe anytime.
The signal
Highway, a freight technology platform, is positioning itself as the structural safeguard against cargo theft and fraud in the trucking industry—much like Plaid revolutionized fintech by creating verifiable identity connections. The company's CCO Michael Caney argues that the nature of freight fraud has fundamentally shifted: as impersonation becomes harder through identity verification tools, professional theft operations are now targeting legitimate carriers, looking for behavioral anomalies and exploiting carriers that "break bad" rather than relying on double-brokering schemes. The root cause of this epidemic traces back to economic pressures. Shippers have squeezed broker margins to unsustainably low levels (3-4% gross margin), creating cascading incentives down the supply chain that push carriers away from compliance investments.
This environment enables organized fraud networks that now operate with sophisticated targeting strategies. 5 million loads monthly, using geocoding and behavioral analytics to detect warning signals: sudden booking volume spikes, unfamiliar carriers entering high-value commodity lanes, and rapid user additions. Highway's response centers on making transaction verification itself the enforcement mechanism. Through its Trusted Freight Exchange, the platform has scaled to become the second-largest freight marketplace in just seven months, with pre-vetted brokers posting 60,000+ loads daily.
Approximately 100,000 carriers now meet platform eligibility requirements, which mandate identity verification, connected electronic logging devices (ELDs), and proof of insurance. This shift away from transactional efficiency toward relationship-based trust represents a fundamental restructuring of how brokers and carriers engage—one with material implications for supply chain professionals managing carrier networks and freight risk.
Frequently Asked Questions
What This Means for Your Supply Chain
What if cargo theft increases 25% due to premium targeting of high-value shipments?
Simulate the operational and financial impact of a 25% increase in cargo theft focused on high-margin, high-value commodities. Model insurance premium escalations, increased expediting costs for theft recovery, customer service disruptions from delayed deliveries, and the need for enhanced monitoring or in-transit visibility technology across vulnerable lanes and commodity types.
Run this scenarioWhat if your freight broker loses carrier access due to fraud risk?
Simulate the operational impact of 30-40% of your current carrier pool being deactivated from freight exchanges due to failed verification standards or fraud detection flags. Model alternative sourcing strategies, including longer lead times for backup carriers, potential rate increases as competition for verified capacity tightens, and increased vetting workload if you shift to direct carrier relationships.
Run this scenarioWhat if you mandate ELD integration and identity verification for all carriers?
Model the cost and lead time impact of requiring all carriers in your network to integrate connected ELDs and pass identity verification before freight assignment. Factor in onboarding friction, carrier attrition among smaller operators, reduced available capacity in certain lanes, and potential freight rate increases as smaller carriers drop out and remaining capacity commands premiums.
Run this scenarioGet the daily supply chain briefing
Top stories, Pulse score, and disruption alerts. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
