President Trump’s team is exploring plans to spur the building of factories and other infrastructure to jump-start American manufacturing, according to documents and people familiar with the discussion.

The Wall Street Journal’s Brian Schwartz and Gavin Bade write that the administration would use money from the $550 billion fund Japan agreed to in its trade deal to develop semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals, energy, ships and quantum computing. Some projects would get expedited regulatory reviews, and the administration is considering granting leases for access to federal land and water.

Details are still being ironed out and the plans, which would give the government a central role in reshaping U.S. manufacturing, could change. The trade pact with Japan would grant Trump wide latitude over how the $550 billion fund is spent. Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick have privately discussed building facilities to produce gas turbines and generic pharmaceuticals, as well as investing in new nuclear power plants and pipelines.

• Hyundai Motor plans to ramp up manufacturing in the U.S. to meet its goal of domestically producing more than 80% of its vehicles sold here by 2030. (WSJ)
• Microsoft unveiled an additional $4 billion commitment for a second AI data center in Wisconsin near a $3.3 billion one that is in its final stages of construction. (WSJ)
• Nvidia is investing $5 billion in Intel at $23.28 a share to jointly develop data-center and personal-computing products. (WSJ)
• HD Hyundai Heavy Industries is talking with several companies about acquiring a U.S. shipyard, according to a senior executive at the South Korean company. (Reuters)

The U.S. faces a slowing economy amid growing concerns about the labor market, headwinds from tariffs and a weak manufacturing sector, according to a basket of economic indicators. The Journal’s Ed Frankl writes that the Leading Economic Index, or LEI, published by The Conference Board, fell 0.5% to 98.4 in August, its largest decline since April, after a 0.1% increase in July.

While the Conference Board isn’t currently forecasting a recession, it expects a slowdown in economic growth to 1.6% in 2025, from 2.8% last year. The LEI is based on 10 components, among them manufacturers’ new orders, initial claims for unemployment insurance and building permits for new private housing units.

• The number of Americans who newly filed for unemployment benefits declined sharply last week, returning the figures to the previous trend after a large spike the week before. (WSJ)
• The 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.26% this week, down from 6.35% a week earlier and the lowest level since October, Freddie Mac said. (WSJ)

FedEx said it expects a $1 billion hit to its fiscal-year earnings from tariff-related changes in global trade, as the parcel giant resumed issuing profit guidance and posted higher quarterly revenue and earnings.

A drop in demand primarily due to the end of the de minimis tariff exemption continues to reduce parcel volume from China to the U.S., the Journal’s Esther Fung writes. FedEx cut its Trans-Pacific Asia outbound capacity by 25% year-over-year in the quarter ended August, and by 10% from the prior quarter.

For the upcoming peak season, FedEx said it is cautiously optimistic about parcel volumes, and U.S. consumers still appear resilient. The company said it expects revenue to grow 4% to 6% in fiscal 2026, above analysts’ expectations, according to FactSet.

The Bank of England held its key interest rate at 4% but reduced a bond-shrinking program. (WSJ)

Taiwan’s central bank held rates steady again, as the island’s strong economic performance so far this year gave it room to extend its pause. (WSJ)

Ireland’s central bank raised its economic-growth forecast for this year and next, with tariffs posing less of a threat than feared. (WSJ)

Huawei Technologies said it plans to roll out more AI chips in the next three years. (WSJ)

Mars will invest $1.18 billion in its European manufacturing operations by the end of next year. (WSJ)

Uber Technologies said it was making its first drone-delivery investment in a partnership with Flytrex, with Uber Eats deliveries in pilot markets by the end of the year. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Aumovio, the German auto-parts supplier spun off from Continental, achieved a market capitalization of about $4.14 billion as it began trading on the Frankfurt stock exchange. (WSJ)

Via Transportation and Alphabet’s Waymo are teaming up to bring robotaxis to public transit, starting with a suburb of Phoenix. (WSJ)

Florida’s orange production hit its lowest level since 1932, with 12.2 million boxes produced in the 2024-25 marketing year, as farmers have battled crop sickness and storms. (WSJ)

Canada ended two separate disputes against U.S. antidumping duties on softwood lumber, based on trading between June 2017 and December 2019. (Bloomberg)

DP World signed an agreement with U.S. nuclear technology company Last Energy to build a microreactor at the port operator’s London Gateway site. (The Loadstar)

Amazon is expanding its multichannel fulfillment service to support merchants’ sales on Walmart, Shopify and Shein, among other new features. (SupplyChainDive)

A group of environmental and community organizations is urging Daimler Truck, Volvo, International Motors and Paccar to drop a lawsuit against California over the Clean Truck Partnership. (Advanced Clean Tech News)

California’s rPlanet Earth, a polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, recycler and packaging maker, has closed, according to industry sources. (Recycling Today)

Mark R. Long is editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Reach him at mark.long@wsj.com.

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