Integrating Cutting-Edge Security Systems in Transportation Operations

Summary:

• Transportation Security is Essential to Economic Stability
  With over $18 trillion worth of goods moved annually in the U.S., rising cargo theft—up 27% in recent years—is not just a business problem but a consumer one, contributing to price increases and economic vulnerability.
• Surveillance Systems Help Deter Crime and Improve Efficiency
  Mobile security units (MSUs) enhance protection through deterrence, access control, remote monitoring, and analytics. Their presence and technology help reduce theft, monitor compliance, and streamline operations across transit hubs and supply chains.
• Advanced Tech Boosts Response and Risk Management
  From AI-driven analytics to real-time emergency response coordination, modern surveillance tools identify patterns, flag threats, and improve decision-making—making them essential for adapting to evolving transportation crime and ensuring worker safety.

When it comes to hot topics in the news, tariffs have dominated the public psyche as of late. Everyone from world leaders to economists to barber shop banterers have started to focus on where our goods are coming from and how it’s going to affect the economy. 

For many Americans, the tracing of our supply chains used to be limited to tracking our Amazon Prime packages whenever it took more than two days to arrive. However, nowadays, understanding the journey from where our goods originate to how they successfully arrive at our homes has taken on more importance. It raises an awareness to how interdependent the security of our transportation industry is connected to overall corporate profitability and general consumer affordability. In other words, cargo theft isn’t just a victimless crime. While companies do absorb their share of losses, some of the other costs get passed along to the consumer too—all in the form of higher prices.

At the heart of it all is our transportation system. According to U.S. Bureau of Transportation statistics, the U.S. transportation system moved an average of 55.5 million tons of freight daily, valued at more than $51.2 billion in 2023. This equates to roughly 20.2 billion tons or $18.7 trillion of freight moved annually by truck, rail, air, water, or other methods. 

Any time an industry deals with that kind of money, you can be sure criminals are taking notice and looking for ways to infiltrate and profit themselves. In fact, incidents of cargo theft in the U.S and Canada have increased to record levels. According to CargoNet, cargo theft has increased 27% from the prior two years with a total annual loss at approximately $455 million dollars.

Yet, the importance of the transportation industry isn’t limited to just moving products and raw materials for critical infrastructure and the economy, it’s about getting people around to help provide services, healthcare, and improving everyone’s standard of living.

As a result, it’s critical that companies and the government continue to invest in transportation security solutions to monitor and protect transit hubs and our supply chains. That’s why surveillance and security systems like mobile security units (MSU’s) are such a game changer and have been proven to play a key role in helping mitigate crime.

Ways Security Systems Tackle Transportation Crime

Deterrence

Although mobile security units take up a smaller footprint, they are still conspicuous and strike an intimidating and forceful presence. Their physical existence is a signal to would-be criminals that the area is under observation which can often be enough to cause them to second guess their actions if not deter them altogether.

Other features on MSU’s such as strobing lights, two-way speakers, and audible alarms only reinforce the ability to protect supply chain infrastructure and the goods that are both in transit and at rest.

Access Control

One of the most effective ways surveillance systems can protect their goods, premises, and employees is by monitoring and limiting access to secure areas. Experts say that this can be achieved with a two-pronged approach of setting a perimeter both physically and virtually.

Physical barriers like fencing, barriers, or checkpoints where identification is checked manually or with advanced technology like biometrics can create a friction point for unapproved visitors. This creates a secure access point for entry and exit that ensures only those authorized can gain entry to targeted locations like warehouses, ports, and transfer hubs where valuable goods are stored.   

The other piece to the access control puzzle is utilizing surveillance systems to monitor and set up a perimeter virtually. Mobile security units are set-up for remote monitoring through any smart device or computer so that surveillance is continuous and can be granted to anyone with clearance and has a stable internet connection. The power of remote monitoring paired with other advanced detection technologies like motion sensors that can distinguish human movements from that of animals or wind-blown shrubs helps weed out false alarms from truly credible ones.

Operational Efficiency

In addition to keeping infrastructure, employees, and goods secure, surveillance systems can increase operational efficiencies. By supervising operations, businesses can gain situational awareness of their processes and identify areas of opportunity for better workflow.

Surveillance systems can help pinpoint areas in the process where there may be bottlenecks, slowdowns, or instances where cargo is sitting idly for too long. Addressing these pain points can rectify and optimize operations while minimizing delays. Furthermore, these surveillance systems can ensure that company protocols and safety measures are being adhered to and met. This helps in keeping employees safe while minimizing dangerous conditions and liability.

Lastly, the systems can identify areas of opportunity where employees may need more training or further protocols need to be implemented or refined.

Analytics and Risk Assessments

As detection technologies improve—including recent advances in artificial intelligence—security systems are becoming more valuable when it comes to data analytics and reporting. Not only are surveillance cameras keeping a recorded video history of events, but systems can catalog, sift through, and extrapolate information from the data to flag any potential patterns that could be a threat. This can include identifying the busiest times shoppers frequent a store (which can help with staffing), the ratio of employee to customer during thefts, and license plate recognition for vehicles that have been involved in prior crimes.

The technology is constantly evolving and continuing to improve in its ability to identify and forecast potential threats which ultimately helps businesses shore up vulnerabilities in their security.

Emergency Response

In times of distress, whether it is crime being committed or in instances when an emergency response is needed, time is a limited commodity. Surveillance systems allow businesses and security teams to increase their situational awareness of suspicious events. Being able to quickly identify, isolate, and analyze an alarming situation leads to more effective and appropriate responses. It can help inform teams with decision-making, such as how best to mobilize resources, the appropriate amount of security needed, and how rapidly to deploy or expedite requests for additional support.

Transporting Security To Your Doorstep

Transportation crimes are continuing to trend upwards. Threats are constantly evolving, and criminals only get better with practice as they seek to profit from the booming transportation industry. Not only is cargo theft on the rise but safety is a serious concern, as transportation and warehousing ranks as the third most dangerous industry.

To keep pace, businesses are looking for an edge and turning to advanced technologies as an answer to aid in their overall transportation security solution. LiveView Technologies’ mobile security units can be easily scaled and integrated to a larger security ecosystem. If you are looking for ways to shore up your defense and protect links in the supply chain, see how LVT can be a partner and help you become more proactive in your transportation security solutions. 

Read more about crimes hurting the transportation industry in our white paper here.