Haulage Exchange: why vehicle security now starts at the gate
Freight platform Haulage Exchange has warned of the security risks posed by unauthorised drivers gaining access to sites by simply driving through the gates, leading to losses that occur without any visible breach.
“Vehicle security has long meant locks, immobilisers, secure parking and tracking,” said Haulage Exchange. “But the easiest way in is often not through the vehicle at all. It’s the driver arriving on site to collect the load.”
It cites the example of a major UK haulier with national coverage.
“Hundreds of driver movements pass through its depots each day, and at the gatehouse far fewer are familiar faces than they once were. The gate process was the industry standard: driving licence, number plate and collection reference checked against the depot’s systems, and the driver released on a match. Then customers began reporting deliveries that were never made.
“There was no physical breach. Criminals had targeted the partners with the weakest onboarding, presented forged documents and driven straight in through the gate. With no chain of custody, investigating meant combing hundreds of drivers’ records after the event as further losses mounted.”
The scale behind cases like this is significant, says the platform; reported UK cargo theft losses reached around £110m (US$149m) in 2024, with trucks accounting for roughly 70 per cent of thefts and around one in five cases involving insider collaboration.
Lyall Cresswell of TEG and Trustd
This is where verification changes the picture, says Haulage Exchange. Every member business on the platform is verified before they can trade, so members are matched only with counterparties whose identity and credentials have been confirmed. That verification comes from Trustd, the digital identity and credentials verification platform for transport and logistics built by TEG, which operates the platform.
In an industry where a single unknown party in the chain can be enough to cause a loss, knowing that every operator has been checked before they ever appear on the platform is what lets thousands of independent firms trade with confidence, the platform says.
“A paper check only tells you who someone was when the document was issued,” said Lyall Cresswell, founder and CEO of TEG and Trustd.
“What our members need is certainty about who is standing in front of them today, and that is what verification gives them.”
Users include Rhys Hackling, who built Direct Connect Logistics in 2014, grew it from two to 24 vehicles, and now runs around 95 per cent of his work through Haulage Exchange. Named HX Company of the Year at this year’s TEG Member Event, he campaigns on freight crime and has taken the issue to Parliamentary committees.
“Freight crime is one of the fastest ways to lose everything you have built,” Hackling said. “When almost all of your work comes through subcontracted loads, you have to know the operator at the other end is who they say they are.”
