Einride, a Swedish battery-electric and autonomous-trucking company, plans to go public next year through a merger with a blank-check company in a deal that values the company at $1.8 billion.

The WSJ Logistics Report’s Paul Berger writes that the Stockholm-based company, which operates in seven countries including the U.S., is aiming to raise hundreds of millions of dollars to invest in technology development and trucks. Einride CEO Roozbeh Charli said the company has entered into a binding agreement to merge with special-purpose acquisition company Legato Merger Corp. III. The parties expect the process to generate gross proceeds of up to $219 million and a public listing in the first half of 2026.

Einride’s expansion comes at a challenging time for zero-emission trucking, especially in America which accounts for about half of the company’s current fleet of about 200 vehicles. Charli said these challenges are outweighed by opportunities in the U.S., adding strong demand for battery-electric big rigs and positive regulatory signals bode well for its European business.

China is planning a system to speed approvals of rare earths and other restricted materials to the U.S. that excludes companies with military ties, according to people familiar with the plan.

The Wall Street Journal’s Jon Emont and Raffaele Huang write that this “validated end-user” system, or VEU, would enable Chinese leader Xi Jinping to follow through on a pledge to President Trump to facilitate the export of such materials while ensuring that they don’t end up with U.S. military suppliers, a core concern.

If strictly implemented, the system could make importing certain Chinese materials more difficult for automotive and aerospace companies that have both civilian and defense clients. Beijing’s plan could still change and its licensing system—modeled on U.S. laws and procedures—wouldn’t be certain until it is implemented, the people said.

• China put its largest and most sophisticated aircraft carrier into active service last week. (WSJ)

• ADP estimated that the private sector was shedding 11,250 jobs a week in the four weeks through Oct. 25, while Goldman Sachs said U.S. nonfarm payrolls likely shrunk by 50,000 roles last month. (WSJ)
• Optimism among U.S. small businesses continued to fall in October on weaker earnings trends, with labor shortages and the government shutdown also dragging on sentiment. (WSJ)
• Confidence in the German economy fell among financial analysts, on concerns a ramp-up in defense and infrastructure spending might not be enough to revitalize the economy. (WSJ)
• The U.K.’s unemployment rate rose to 5.0% in the three months through September, up from 4.8% in June-August, reaching its highest level in over four years. (WSJ)
• Microsoft and Alphabet’s Google said they would invest more than $16 billion to expand AI infrastructure in Europe. (WSJ)
• FedEx’s U.S. outbound airfreight business is up 22%, or roughly $40 million, and volumes from Singapore have also increased, CFO John Dietrich said at a conference with analysts. (Dow Jones Newswires)
• Motion-control-technologies company Parker-Hannifin agreed to buy Filtration Group, a privately held affiliate of Madison Industries, for $9.25 billion. (WSJ)
• German airport operator Fraport posted third-quarter earnings that beat expectations, helped by a rebound in passenger numbers to prepandemic levels. (WSJ)
• Schneider National launched a new intermodal service offering a 95% on-time guarantee. (Journal of Commerce)
• Guinea started exporting iron ore from a $20 billion project at the world’s largest reserve, Simandou. (Bloomberg)
• Union Pacific agreed to ensure job security for members of the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers union if its proposed merger with Norfolk Southern is approved. (TrainsPRO)
• The ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles signed a deal with California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District to cut emissions at their facilities. (TradeWinds)
• EU naval forces took control of an Iranian-flagged vessel allegedly used as a mother ship by pirates off the coast of Somalia. (gCaptain)

Mark R. Long is editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Reach him at mark.long@wsj.com. Follow the WSJ Logistics Report team on LinkedIn: Mark R. Long, Liz Young and Paul Berger.