Week in Review: When Copper Gets Pricey, People Start Stealing It

Global economic forces have copper prices soaring. But you know who’s not complaining about it? Cargo thieves. Copper theft is up 61% this year, and the more prices skyrocket, the more every truck becomes a target. Meanwhile, the trucking industry released a new cybersecurity playbook to defend against increasingly crafty digital thieves, while GrubMarket raised $50 million to bring AI to America’s food chain (impressive, considering it just paid the SEC an $8 million fine for illicit fundraising practices). And as U.S. pharma giants panic over rising costs, Singapore’s Zuellig Pharma has quietly built a profitable business model. Let’s get started!

Trade Policy: Copper Takes a Hit, Pharma Gets Warning Shot

The latest economic policy updates hit copper with a 50% duty and threatened pharmaceuticals with a 200% rate during a meeting last week. This adds to the 25% already hammering cars and car parts, plus the 50% on steel and aluminum imports.

Copper Markets Go Full Panic Mode

Copper is everywhere—your phone, your car, basically everything that needs electricity—and America imported $17 billion worth last year, with Chile alone shipping us $6 billion. So, unsurprisingly, immediately after the news broke, copper futures shot up 15% to a record $5.68 per pound, capping off a massive 38% surge this year. No wonder Saxo Bank’s Ole Hansen sees the copper surge as a “massive tax on consumers.”

Pharmaceutical Threats & Global Jitters

The threat of a 200% duty on pharmaceuticals “very soon” also ramps things up. However, all things indicate that if they do roll out, it’ll be gradual to coax more companies stateside. Australia’s treasurer, Jim Chalmers, called the pharma threat “very concerning,” noting billions in exports hang in the balance.

Highway Robbery Goes High-Tech: Copper Thieves Strike Gold

Rising copper prices are also in the news this week, because it has criminals seeing red—the profitable kind. Reports of copper theft from trucks are climbing faster than the metal’s soaring value; copper thefts in the first half of 2025 are already up 61% compared to the same period last year (but Tive knows a thing or two about fighting back against it).

Crime Pays When Copper Soars

Verisk CargoNet labeled copper “a top emerging targeted commodity,” and criminals are getting creative about cashing in. Keith Lewis, Verisk CargoNet’s vice president of operations, explains that “criminals bounce from commodity to commodity”—when demand spikes, thieves follow the money. Unlike stolen electronics with serial numbers, copper vanishes easily into sketchy scrapyards and black markets. Thieves have stripped copper from Eurostar rail lines (disrupting 2,000 feet of service between the U.K. and France), streetlights, and telecommunications cables, but trucking offers the ultimate prize: preloaded trailers ready to roll.

Digital Bandits Target Load Boards

Organized crime rings now troll online freight platforms to identify copper shipments, using stolen trucking company credentials to pose as legitimate carriers. Integrity Express Logistics learned this lesson the hard way when criminals used fake IDs to steal $135,000 worth of rubber-wrapped cable from a Midwest scrapyard, disappearing on a Friday and leaving the company to discover the theft Monday morning. COO Eric Arling paid the customer out of pocket to preserve the relationship, noting “insurance rarely covers it” and companies avoid hitting their policies too frequently.

Fighting Fire with Framework: Trucking Industry Declares War on Digital Heists

You’re not the only one sick and tired of hearing about criminals stealing copper and other high-value goods—the trucking industry is, too. The National Motor Freight Traffic Association just rolled out its battle plan against these digital bandits with a brand new Cybersecurity Cargo Crime Reduction Framework, and people are taking note.

Three Pillars Hold Up the Defense

The framework builds on three core strategies: spotting red flags like fake carrier profiles and spoofed communications, deploying layered security across telematics and personnel training, and fostering collaboration among trusted partners to track threats and report incidents. NMFTA emphasizes that companies need all three pillars working together—you can’t just rely on one approach. Even the best physical security—complete with gates and guards—falls apart if criminals can digitally hijack your loads before they reach the facility.

When Cyber Meets Cargo Security

The framework tackles what NMFTA calls “convergence”—the intersection of cybersecurity, operational security, and physical security. American Trucking Associations Chief Economist Bob Costello captured the industry’s frustration perfectly: “Directly or indirectly, virtually all trucking companies are victims of cargo theft. Either they are victims of crime, or they are spending so much money to defend against being targeted that they are still victims.” Companies can’t solve cargo theft by focusing on just one security area while leaving the others vulnerable to digital exploitation. 

GrubMarket Scores $50 Million to AI-fy America’s Food Chain (But First, Some Baggage)

Food tech disruptor GrubMarket just closed $50 million in Series G funding to bring America’s food supply chain into the AI age. Yet while fresh cash means fresh AI tools, the company does have to deal with some SEC issues first.

AI Assistants Ready to Revolutionize Your Lunch

The funding fuels GrubMarket’s mission to modernize what CEO Mike Xu calls America’s “lagging” food supply chain through patent-pending AI solutions. The new GrubAssist AI suite rolls out three digital helpers: a Business Analyst AI assistant, an AI Orders agent that converts offline orders into digital ones, and a Cash Flow Analyst AI assistant that predicts money flow patterns for food wholesalers and distributors. ROC Venture Group Managing Partner Aaron Stafford praised the technology for “transforming the highly fragmented and outdated U.S. food supply chain” while eliminating waste and delivering fresher, cheaper produce to Americans.

Past Financial Fumbles Cost $8 Million

There’s just one catch to this fundraising success story: GrubMarket recently paid $8 million to settle SEC charges for giving investors unclear financial information during its Series D round from 2019 to 2021. However, the company says it has cleaned up its act since then. GrubMarket claims it upgraded its financial systems before the SEC investigation even started and transformed from “startup chaos” into what it now calls a company with “robust finance function and best-in-class financial controls.”

The Singapore Shuffle: How Zuellig Pharma Handles the Current Trade Climate

While U.S. pharma giants navigate rising costs and changing trade policies, Singapore’s Zuellig Pharma sees the current climate as more of a chess match—always three moves ahead.  

Tech Wizardry Meets Geographic Genius

Zuellig built a resilient business on three smart pillars. Its eZTracker blockchain system caught $19 million worth of counterfeit drugs while cutting pharmacy paperwork by 80% and boosting efficiency by 70% for partners like Cambodia’s Tep Nika. Then there’s its 18,000 cold room pallets that exceed global biologics standards—infrastructure that shrugs at supply chain bedlam. But the real genius is regional partnerships: deals like Thailand’s Mounjaro^® distribution and strategic ASEAN acquisitions create trade-friendly corridors while U.S. competitors are stuck begging for exemptions from retaliatory Chinese duties.

David Versus Goliath Economics

Merck is throwing $150 billion at onshoring, and Pfizer slashed $500 million from R&D to fund domestic plants. Zuellig is taking another approach, building partnerships with companies like Sensos and Regeneron that deliver resilience without breaking the bank. Its multiyear contracts even include pass-through clauses to protect margins, and it’s riding Asia’s steady 6% annual healthcare growth instead of betting on volatile U.S. markets, where 40% of generics are heading off patent cliffs. The numbers tell the story: Zuellig’s 18x P/E ratio beats Pfizer’s 22x, with a 3.5% dividend yield and 12% revenue growth nearly double the regional average.

Are You Ready for the New Disruptive Normal?

This week’s cocktail of trade, thieves, and treachery proves one thing: if you can’t see what’s happening to your shipments, you’re already behind. While everyone else races to react, the companies thriving are the ones using real-time tracking and real-time shipment visibility to monitor goods and their conditions at all times.  

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.