YMX yard technology helps retailer trace $60,000 in missing freight

Cameras at the gate record trucks entering and leaving the facility, while machine-learning software captures information such as license plates, trailer numbers and carrier details. The system creates a digital record of truck movements that investigators can search after a shipment problem is discovered.

The footage did not establish where the pallets went missing or who removed them. Because the cameras were positioned at the retailer’s facility, the records showed which trucks and drivers delivered the loads and when they entered the yard. The shortages could have occurred when the cheese was loaded by the supplier, during transportation or after the shipments reached the retailer.

The broader issue

Cargo theft remains a significant supply-chain security issue, although recent data does not show a simple increase in the number of theft incidents. Verisk CargoNet recorded 677 theft incidents in the U.S. and Canada during the second quarter, down 26% from the same period in 2025. Estimated losses, however, more than doubled to $304.6 million. 

Food and beverage freight has been particularly affected. CargoNet recorded 708 food and beverage thefts in 2025, up 47% from the previous year, the largest increase among the commodity categories tracked by CargoNet. Estimated cargo theft losses across all commodities reached nearly $725 million in 2025, up 60% from 2024.

YMX’s system also combines gate footage with other yard data, including cameras mounted on trucks that move trailers around the facility. Those cameras record where and when trailers are dropped at dock doors, according to YMX.

Together, the data creates a record of a trailer’s movements through the facility, from the gate to the dock.

YMX said its computer-vision system automatically extracts information from gate footage and sends it into its yard-management platform. The technology can identify carriers from information such as logos even when the carrier name is not clearly visible, according to the company.

The approach is one of several ways FreightTech companies are using data and automated monitoring to address cargo theft. FreightWaves recently reported on Wiliot’s ambient IoT technology, which uses item-level sensors to detect potential theft, diversion and handling issues as freight moves through the supply chain.

The retailer is now piloting the system at two facilities, while another food distributor has begun testing it at one location, YMX said.

The expansion reflects a broader push by shippers to bring more automation and visibility into the yard, where information about trucks, trailers and freight has traditionally been spread across gate logs, spreadsheets, transportation systems and manual checks.

For cargo-security teams, linking those records can provide another way to reconstruct what happened after a shipment enters a facility, particularly when a problem is not discovered until the freight reaches its destination. 

Why this matters
The case shows how computer vision can give shippers more visibility into truck and trailer movements inside distribution yards, creating records that can be used to investigate missing freight and identify where losses may have occurred.