Week in Review: As $18M in Cargo Disappears Daily, Someone’s Putting Meds on a Sailboat

An estimated $18 million in cargo disappears every day (including Guy Fieri’s tequila), and most truckers shrug it off as the cost of doing business. That’s the state of the supply chain in 2025: some things vanish, some things evolve in wild directions. Like Takeda loading blood meds onto a racing sailboat for a two-week Atlantic crossing, or Bristol Myers dropping $1.5 billion on cell therapies that skip the lab entirely. The UN’s also asking for your take on the $30 billion to $50 billion food fraud problem. And while Deloitte’s Daniel Gribbin helps Middle Eastern giants use AI to slash carbon emissions, one truth becomes clear: the stuff moving around the planet right now barely resembles how it moved five years ago.

$18 Million Vanishes Daily from Cargo Theft: Many Just Shrug

Guy Fieri’s million-dollar tequila heist grabbed headlines last November, but truckers barely raised an eyebrow: they see $18 million worth of cargo disappear every single day, and at this point, cargo theft feels about as surprising as hitting traffic on I-95. The American Transportation Research Institute dropped the receipts: $6.6 billion gone annually, with carriers losing around $520,000 yearly and logistics providers bleeding $1.84 million.

The Great Food Chain Robbery

Thieves love stealing food more than anything else because you can’t exactly track a hamburger once someone eats it. Electronics and auto parts round out the favorites, but groceries rule the theft world for two very good reasons: quick sale and zero evidence. California leads the crime spree, followed by Illinois and Texas, with thieves targeting everything from truck stops to carriers’ own terminals. Yet the actual theft only tells part of the story. Factor in the downtime, the scramble to replace stolen trucks, and all the other nuances, and that stolen cargo costs carriers three to six times its original value.  

Why Bother Filing That Police Report?

Carriers have done the math on recovery rates and decided that hope is expensive—as cargo theft shows no signs of slowing. Only 2% of stolen loads ever make it back intact, while 74% disappear forever into the theft void. The success rate got so pathetic that 9% of carriers quit calling the police entirely. After all, one theft happens per every 76 trucks annually, making cargo disappearance practically a scheduled maintenance item at this point.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Inside Takeda’s Plans to Ship Blood Meds Overseas on a Sailboat 

Pharmaceutical heavyweight Takeda will load refrigerated blood-disease drugs onto a wind-powered trimaran in fall 2026 to test if they can survive a two-week Atlantic crossing. The startup Vela built this thing to look like an ocean racer, and Takeda’s gambling its France-to-NYC pharma shipments on whether sailboats can beat both sluggish container ships and wallet-crushing air freight.

The 5% Test Run That Could Alter Shipping

Xavier Baville, Takeda’s logistics chief, wants 5% of the France-to-New York volumes on Vela’s refrigerated trimaran in 2026. But the catch is these shipments have to prove the vessel meets Good Distribution Practice standards while pushing Takeda toward its 2040 net-zero target. Right now, they’re booking entire 40-foot containers for fewer than six pallets, which makes zero sense. Medical device company Echosens has already committed 100% of its Q4 2026 volume to Vela, while fashion brand SMCP and winemaker Arvitis will share the first voyage.  

Speed Meets Solar on a 171-Foot Mast

Vela’s trimaran lands from Philippine shipbuilders next summer, sporting 2,600 square feet of solar panels, two hydrogenerators, and twin 171-foot racing masts that hit 14 knots (16 mph). Four additional trimarans will join the fleet by 2028, creating weekly France-U.S. runs moving 48,000 tons annually for pharma, medical devices, luxury goods, and industrial parts. Not to mention, Vela co-founder Michael Fernandez-Ferri is especially bullish on sidestepping port congestion by using smaller harbors that their vessels can easily enter.

Bristol Myers Drops $1.5B to Join Big Pharma’s Latest Cell Therapy Gold Rush

Bristol Myers Squibb just wrote a $1.5 billion check to crash the hottest party in pharma: cell therapies you can inject straight into patients without the traditional lab gymnastics. Bristol Myers’ chess move was to snag Orbital Therapeutics and its lead program OTX-201, which could start human trials in 2026.

Skip the Lab, Fix the Immune System on Site

Traditional cell therapies force patients through a grueling process: doctors extract cells, FedEx them to a lab, scientists tinker with them for weeks, and then ship them back for reinfusion alongside harsh chemotherapy. Bristol already sells multiple approved versions for blood cancers. But treating autoimmune conditions like lupus demands something gentler. Orbital’s approach works like a software update instead of a hardware replacement, using circular RNA to train cells to hunt down CD19 proteins on rogue B cells right where they live. The $270 million startup, founded in 2022 by former Alnylam CEO John Maraganore, showed its tech could wipe out B cells across blood, spleen, and lymph nodes in preclinical studies. So, this move is a natural next step. 

Late to the Party, But Bristol Brings Credibility

Gilead, AbbVie, and AstraZeneca already placed their bets on in vivo cell therapy companies this year, leaving Bristol playing catch-up. But Bristol’s bringing serious credibility: it’s got multiple approved blood cancer cell therapies, including Breyanzi, which targets the same CD19 protein. The demand is certainly there, especially for autoimmune disorders that don’t require the full chemo factory reset treatment. 

The UN Wants Your Take on Food Fraud

The UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has questions about fake food, and they want answers from you. A working group is building a report for the Human Rights Council’s June 2026 session that digs into how food fraud and safety issues collide with basic human rights. The ultimate goal is figuring out what progress has been made in creating food systems that don’t deceive consumers while still properly feeding people.

The $30 Billion Problem Flying Under the Radar

Food fraud costs somewhere between $30 billion and $50 billion annually, according to a 2024 World Trade Organization report. Think fake ingredients, misleading labels, fraudulent packaging, seed theft, and smuggled agricultural products that drain wallets and pose health risks. The OHCHR wants to understand how these deceptive practices block access to fundamental rights like life, health, and safe food, and what role agribusiness and consumer goods companies play in either fixing or fueling the problem. 

Your Chance to Weigh In

The working group posed more than 20 questions for potential respondents. They want to know how countries can create better laws that hold businesses accountable, what mechanisms should exist to catch fraud before it reaches dinner plates, and whether current trade agreements help or hurt anti-fraud efforts. You can share cases of business-related human rights abuses, insights on investor responsibility, or ideas about traceability and accurate labeling. Send responses (2,500 words max, in English, French, or Spanish) to hrc-wg-business@un.org by December 1. Submissions become public unless you request otherwise.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Deloitte’s Daniel Gribbin Makes Supply Chains Work for the Planet

Daniel Gribbin sees what most executives miss: supply chains generate more carbon than factories, offices, and fleets combined. The Deloitte Middle East Director of Sustainability helps companies track Scope 1-3 emissions and turn the UAE’s net zero 2050 target into reality—so he knows a thing or two about making supply chains part of the solution instead of the problem.

When Robots Fix What Humans Broke

Gribbin’s crew feeds machine learning to steel, cement, and oil companies so their supply chains stop emitting so much carbon. The AI catches equipment problems before they happen and tweaks operations on the fly. Blockchain keeps everyone honest about their carbon numbers while digital twins let companies test renewable energy without betting the farm. Deloitte, in fact, hit its own net-zero by 2040 target using these exact methods.  

The Hydrogen Economy Takes Shape

The UAE plans to become a global hydrogen hub by 2031, and Gribbin helps build the backbone for it to happen. His team designs the infrastructure, connects hydrogen economics with commercial viability, and builds cross-border partnerships that move beyond pilots to actual deployment. They create ESG frameworks that international investors trust while building circular economy models that work locally—a big deal considering supply chains now attract green financing and determine market position.

Track What Moves. Protect What Matters.

Sailboats carrying blood meds. Cell therapies that skip the lab. AI slashing carbon emissions. The supply chain keeps evolving, but all that innovation means nothing if you lose track of what you’re shipping. Real-time tracking and real-time shipment visibility  can help keep you out of that $18 million daily theft club—and then some. So take the next step.

Arm yourself with innovation: let Tive lead the way in transforming your supply chain operations. Embrace the future of logistics—get started with Tive today.