Rural USPS Challenges, Autonomous Excavators, and Rising Insider Cargo Theft
Good morning! ☀️
Your quick-hit dose of supply chain chaos, clever takes, and the occasional "wait, what?!" Today’s lineup:
🚗 Roger McDonald is back on his 150-mile Nebraska route, proving once again that rural mail carriers > the USPS profit margin.
🚧 Robotaxis, step aside—autonomous excavators are digging their way to the top (and they don’t need a lunch break).
🕵️♂️ And cargo theft? Yeah… it’s gone full Mission: Impossible. The call is coming from inside the warehouse.
Let’s dash.
“Don’t worry about failure; you only have to be right once.”
More Than Mail: Why Rural Postal Service Still Matters
Rural letter carrier Roger McDonald just got back on his 150-mile Nebraska route after a bad car accident. For him—and the folks he delivers to—it’s clear: the Postal Service is more than mail. It’s prescriptions, paychecks, and connection, especially in remote towns where the USPS might be the only reliable link left. Now, with big names like Trump and Musk eyeing privatization, and a former FedEx exec stepping in as Postmaster General, rural communities are bracing for more cuts. McDonald says it best: “You can’t reduce everything to dollars and cents.”
Why You Should Care (Logistics Edition):
If you’re in the industry, this is your problem too. USPS covers the routes no one wants—rural, remote, unprofitable. If that system crumbles, you could be the one expected to step in. That’s new business… and new costs, regulations, and risks.
🔥 Hot Take:
Privatizing USPS is like tearing down a bridge and handing carriers the lumber—sure, maybe they’ll build something, but don’t expect it to connect the same people.
Bedrock Robotics Wants to Dig Into the Future
🚧 Move over robotaxis—excavators are coming for your crown.
A crew of ex-Waymo and Uber Freight engineers just launched Bedrock Robotics, and they’re not messing around. Instead of building flashy new machines, they’re retrofitting existing construction equipment (think excavators, loaders) with AI, lidar, and 24/7 autonomy to keep digging when the humans clock out.
Why does this matter for transportation and logistics folks? Because delays at construction sites jam up the entire supply chain. From freight bottlenecks to missed delivery windows, it’s all connected.
And let’s be real: while autonomous trucking is still stuck at a red light (regulations, anyone?), construction might quietly beat us to the finish line. No public roads. No NHTSA headaches. Just dirt, data, and uptime.
🔥 Hot Take:
The construction industry might be the first to actually scale automation—and trucking will be left asking for directions.
Inside Jobs & Cargo Heists: What You Need to Know
Cargo theft is getting sneakier—and more inside—according to BSI Consulting’s latest report. From April to June, U.S. hotspots like Miami and LA saw a spike in thefts involving insider help. Think bribed warehouse workers, shady truck drivers, and phishing attacks targeting unsuspecting employees. Criminals are using stolen intel to tail shipments or orchestrate elaborate heists, with food, electronics, and ag products topping their wishlist.
The bulk of thefts happened during transit, especially via tractor-trailers, and increasingly, even rail lines are being hit. In some cases, thieves cut brake lines to loot containers mid-stop.
Why should you care? If you’re in logistics, these trends highlight just how important carrier vetting and cybersecurity training really are. Slow down, verify your partners, and make sure your team knows how to spot a scam. Because today’s cargo theft isn’t just smash-and-grab—it’s organized, digital, and already in the building.
🔥 Hot Take:
Forget porch pirates—the real threat is already wearing a company badge. If you're not vetting carriers, training your staff on cyber scams, or verifying who's touching your freight, you're basically handing over the keys. It’s 2025 and theft doesn’t always come with a ski mask—it might just come with a clipboard and your company logo.
The Workday Dash is an aggregation of articles regarding the transportation logistics, trucking, and supply chain industries for July 18, 2025, from iLevel Logistics Inc.