Week in Review: Stolen Semis, Melting Roads & Smart Corn

This week, we start in Florida with Juan Perez-Gonzalez, a serial cargo thief who just couldn’t quit stealing semis despite two prior convictions. Then, up in Iowa, PepsiCo and Cargill are buying their way to better soil on 240,000 acres because dead dirt equals no Doritos. Europe, meanwhile, is melting at 46.6°C, turning highways into taffy while pharma companies are finding answers to their problems before they even notice them by using Agentic AI. And manufacturers everywhere are discovering that supply chain visibility software beats guessing and leads to quantifiable improvements. Let’s dig in. 

Serial Thief Gets Busted After $5.3M Cargo Theft Spree

Juan Perez-Gonzalez never learned that crime doesn’t pay—or maybe he just couldn’t resist stealing entire semi-trucks full of everything from Oculus headsets to Victoria’s Secret merchandise. The 51-year-old Floridian wrapped up his third federal cargo theft conviction after he and five others reportedly made off with $5.3 million worth of goods.

A Resume Only a Warden Could Love

Perez-Gonzalez has been playing this game since 2009, when he stole $500,000 worth of liquor from Jeffersonville, Indiana, which earned him 23 months. Five years later, while still on supervised release, he went right back to jacking trailers and got slapped with 105 months. Between December 2021 and May 2023, he reportedly orchestrated 14 heists targeting Meta, Microsoft, and L Brands facilities across Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. The haul included $2 million in Oculus headsets, $940,000 in Microsoft gear, $1 million in Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works merchandise, plus another $1.3 million in audio equipment from Bose, JBL, and Logitech.

Paint Job Fooled Nobody

Perez-Gonzalez’s crew would tail trucks leaving distribution centers, wait for drivers to grab coffee or gas, then steal the whole rig. They’d ditch the tractor, hook the trailer to their own truck, and slap some paint over the logos. After all, nothing says “legitimate cargo” like a freshly spray-painted trailer with mismatched license plates. The stolen goods then ended up in Miami, where buyers grabbed the merchandise at bargain prices. All five accomplices have already pleaded guilty and face sentencing through October, while Perez-Gonzalez awaits his fate after the jury’s guilty verdict on conspiracy and interstate transportation charges.

When Big Snack Meets Big Farm: Iowa’s Corn Revolution

Your favorite chips and sodas are getting a makeover that starts in the dirt. PepsiCo and Cargill—two companies that rarely team up—are betting big on 240,000 acres of Iowa farmland. Why? Simple: you can’t make Doritos forever if you trash the soil. Their deadline: 2030. Their reach: over 200 countries worth of snack lovers.

The $90 Billion Question: Can Corn Save Itself?

PepsiCo pulls in $90 billion every year from products made with 35 different crops gathered from 60 countries. Iowa grows more than 15% of America’s corn, making it the perfect testing ground for something bigger. Partnering with 160-year-old Cargill, PepsiCo wants 10 million acres farming differently by 2030—not through corporate decrees but through Practical Farmers of Iowa, a homegrown group that knows these fields, can translate sustainability dreams into 24/7 farming decisions, and will connect what happens in Iowa soil to snack aisles worldwide.  

Real Money for Real Change 

Here’s the refreshing part: farmers are getting paid to try new things, not lectured about saving the planet. The deal includes cold, hard cash to cover the risk of switching up their methods, plus advice that fits their specific dirt and weather. Practical Farmers of Iowa tracks everything that matters: healthier soil, cleaner air, and of course, whether farmers make more money. Each farm gets custom advice based on its distinctive patch of earth, because what works in one field might flop next door. 

The Heat Is On: Europe’s Supply Chains Sweat Under Pressure

Europe’s getting roasted—literally. With temperatures regularly topping 40°C across southern regions and Portugal already hitting 46.6°C in 2025, the continent’s supply chains are feeling the burn. Europe warms at twice the global average, and by 2050, scorching days in major cities could triple. That’s bad news for the 1,869 billion ton-kilometres of road freight that keeps Europe running, especially for cargo that needs to stay chilled.

Roads Melt, Drivers Wilt, Trucks Quit

Heat turns European roads into dangerous obstacle courses. Asphalt melts under 40-ton trucks, concrete slabs buckle, and suddenly your delivery route looks like a demolition derby track. Drivers battling 40°C+ temperatures face serious heat stress, worsening Europe’s already brutal shortage of 233,000 unfilled trucking jobs (projected to hit 745,000 by 2028). Meanwhile, older trucks break down faster, cooling systems fail, and maintenance costs skyrocket. Smart companies like Girteka Logistics combat this with modern fleets averaging just 2.5 years old across their 6,000 Euro 6 trucks, but most operators aren’t so prepared.

When Cool Cargo Gets Hot, Everyone Pays

Temperature-sensitive produce is unforgiving—avocados need 6°C, blueberries 1°C, and bananas 16°C. Just 1°C above target can halve shelf life, and post-harvest losses already range from 15% to 70% for horticultural crops. The 2025 heat wave alone could slash European economic growth by 0.5 percentage points, with Spain facing a sharp 1.4% GDP decline. Add diesel prices up 4.8% and major waterways like the Rhine forcing barges to operate at 40-50% capacity, and heat becomes an expensive problem that reroutes freight onto already-strained roads.

Einstein at Your Pharma Manufacturing Desk: How Agentic AI Rewrites the Rules

Life sciences companies are victims of their own success. Cancer treatments, weight-loss drugs, and immune therapies fly off development lines faster than manufacturing can keep up, while lab operations choke on manual processes that belonged in the last century. But with Agentic AI in the mix, you can take action, make decisions, and execute tasks autonomously across your entire operation.

The Smart Factory That Thinks for Itself

Remember how generative AI felt like having a brilliant intern at your desk? Agentic AI is like having Einstein himself—except this Einstein doesn’t just analyze your manufacturing data and write reports. This version actually fixes the problems. These specialized agents interpret data, make decisions, and execute actions automatically across your entire operation. They understand your goals, read the context, and handle complex tasks without waiting for human approval. While traditional AI says, “Here’s what’s wrong,” Agentic AI says, “Here’s what’s wrong, and I’ve already fixed it.”

Real-World Problem-Solving  

Your lab operations get immediate relief through predictive maintenance that spots equipment failures before they happen and automatically schedules repairs. Intelligent scheduling dynamically assigns tasks to maximize throughput while resource optimization ensures nothing sits idle. Manufacturing benefits even more—new product introductions move faster as agents analyze development data to streamline transfers. At the same time, capacity optimization gives agents end-to-end visibility to reallocate resources and trigger line changes in real time. Supply chain disruptions become manageable as agents continuously monitor logistics and automatically adjust orders, reroute deliveries, or update production plans when they detect potential shortfalls.

When Your Supply Chain Plays Hide-and-Seek

Supply chains break—a lot. And when they do, manufacturers that can’t see trouble coming get hammered while their competitors keep things moving. The difference comes down to having software that spots problems before they wreck your production schedule.  

The Visibility Problem That Keeps CEOs Awake

Most manufacturers still operate with massive blind spots across their supply networks. Glynn Newby from SAS Institute explains that companies desperately need software to “improve supply chain visibility, predict disruptions, optimize inventory levels and enhance overall resilience.” Waiting for problems to surface costs millions when global events can shatter logistics networks overnight. Smart manufacturers have learned that transparent access to manufacturing data allows companies to manage production capacities more flexibly and recover from short-term supply disruptions faster than competitors that remain in the dark.

Numbers That Make Finance Teams Smile

Supply chain visibility software delivers results that show up clearly on financial statements. For instance, after bolstering its visibility, SMA Solar Technology AG reported a 15% increase in supply chain workforce productivity, a 10% improvement in overall supply chain planning costs, and 10% lower inventory carrying costs and stock turnover rate. These aren’t small tweaks either, and just a sample size of the impact that software solutions can have in helping manufacturers manage risks and opportunities across volatile global supply chains.   

Visibility Connects the Dots

This week’s stories—from stolen trucks to melting roads—share a common thread: companies operating blind get burned. The winners use real-time shipment visibility to spot trouble early and real-time tracking tools as basic survival gear when supply chains snap.

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.