Rising raw materials prices and other higher costs are prompting sharper discussions between suppliers and buyers. Elevator maker Otis Worldwide is the latest to report tough talks with suppliers as the increased spending on business inputs, from commodities to transportation, dominates the season’s earnings reports. Otis Worldwide finance chief Rahul Ghai tells the WSJ’s Nina Trentmann that the company has doubled its forecast for expected growth in the annual cost of raw materials, to $70 million to $80 million after spending $300 million on commodities last year. He says suppliers who last year agreed to set prices in advance now are “very unwilling to lock in prices.” The company is trying to set price increases for projects, but the contest over costs is going on across industries as companies try to balance this year’s inflation against a long-term financial outlook.

The contracting tug-of-war is playing out across the freight sector as companies weigh new annual agreements in a market that has seen record-high ocean freight and trucking rates. C.H. Robinson Worldwide CEO Bob Biesterfeld said on an earnings call this week that the freight broker “re-priced” its contract business last quarter as transport costs surged. “The bid process continues to be a dynamic one,” he said, with some companies seeking to hedge their bets by setting shorter terms for three or six months, rather than sign onto 12-month contracts.

There’s almost no place in the business world to hide from the global chip shortage. Electronics heavyweight Apple and electric-car maker Tesla both are bracing for the impact of the disruption to the global supply of microprocessors, the WSJ’s Tim Higgins, Yoko Kubota and Yang Jie report, in a sign that even some of the largest, best-supplied companies can no longer sidestep the semiconductor crisis. Apple largely withstood the impact of the chip shortage last quarter because of the company’s scale and its strong supply-chain planning. But it expects supply constraints will soon take a bigger toll on revenue and will hit both iPhones and iPads. Tesla managed the shortage by matching alternative chips to reconfigured software. Now CEO Elon Musk suggests production of its anticipated Cybertruck pickup may be affected, saying “to scale to volume that’s meaningful for customer deliveries, we’ve got to solve the chip shortage.”

Boeing sees a recovery in its commercial jet business, but it’s in China. The aircraft maker reported its first quarterly profit in nearly two years in the second quarter, the WSJ’s Doug Cameron and Andrew Tangel write, in a promising report that was boosted by a quadrupling in jetliner deliveries that included its long-troubled 737 MAX planes. Boeing is increasing production and shelving plans to shed another 10,000 workers this year. But the linchpin of the U.S. aerospace sector says it needs orders from China by mid-2022 to take full advantage of a stronger-than-expected recovery in air travel. That may be a tall order with U.S.-China relations still strained. In the meantime, its profitable defense and services businesses are helping make up for the money-losing commercial airplanes unit. Cargo is providing a lift, with 31 freighter orders added last quarter and an agreement in place.

The Ever Given and its $700 million in cargo arrived at the Port of Rotterdam, more than three months after the ship blocked the Suez Canal and disrupted global shipping. (WSJ)

A group of Republican senators reached an agreement with Democrats on the major issues of a roughly $1 trillion infrastructure package. (WSJ)

The Biden administration wants to accelerate requirements for a higher level of American-made products under federal procurement policy. (WSJ)

Mining giant Rio Tinto nearly quadrupled its first-half profit to a record $12.3 billion on strong commodities prices. (WSJ)

Investigators say the gunman who killed eight people at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis was likely not motivated by bias or racism. (WSJ)

XPO Logistics raised its outlook after swinging to a $156 million second-quarter profit ahead of its splitting off its logistics segment. (Barron’s)

McDonald’s says its sales are surpassing pre-pandemic levels across the world as more of its dining rooms reopen. (WSJ)

Nissan is projecting a return to profitability for the first time in three years. (Financial Times)

E-commerce company Shopify’s revenue surged past $1 billion for the first time and second-quarter net profit jumped to $879.1 million. (MarketWatch)

U.S. natural gas pipeline exports to Mexico rose 25% in June from a year ago to a new monthly record. (Houston Chronicle)

Sri Lankan businesses are struggling under an import ban that Colombo imposed because of a foreign exchange crisis. (Nikkei Asia)

Alphaliner says Germany's Hapag-Lloyd is looking to lease or buy around 10 container ships ordered by Greek owners at shipyards in China and South Korea. (TradeWinds)

Ship owner Costamare accelerated its move into dry-bulk operations with the addition of 21 commodities carriers over the past month. (Lloyd’s List)

Thailand is considering launching a national container line as high freight rates hit the country’s exporters. (The Loadstar)

Norfolk Southern’s second-quarter profit more than doubled to $819 million and the railroad hit a record 58.3% operating ratio. (Progressive Railroading)

Trucker Trimac Transportation acquired Austin, Texas-based freight broker Zengistics. (Commercial Carrier Journal) 

A high school truck-driving teacher is working as a commercial driver for the summer to help alleviate a shortfall in truck operators. (KOVR)

Paul Page is editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Write to him at paul.page@wsj.com.

Follow the WSJ Logistics Report team: @PaulPage, @jensmithWSJ, @pdberger. Follow the WSJ Logistics Report on Twitter at @WSJLogistics.