Dave Bozeman faced a lot of skepticism in June 2023 when he was appointed CEO of America’s largest freight broker.

The WSJ Logistics Report’s Paul Berger writes that the former Ford Motor and Amazon executive took over C.H. Robinson Worldwide as it was battling falling revenue and activist investors. Two years on and three years into a prolonged freight slump that has pushed thousands of carriers and brokers out of business, C.H. Robinson is growing margins even as revenue declines. Bozeman attributes the company’s success to its lean operating model and growing adoption of automation and AI, which it uses to broker more loads with fewer workers.

Bozeman says the company is automating tens of thousands of rate quotes a day and using AI to generate about half of the company’s carrier bookings and appointments. Before AI, the company only got to about 60% of the quote requests that came in each day, he says. Today, it can respond to every one. Bozeman says the company is now turning to agentic AI to make more complex decisions autonomously, to further boost efficiency and productivity.

President Trump moved to impose tariffs on imports of lumber, kitchen cabinets and certain furniture products, at rates that will initially be lower than what he previewed on social media.

The Journal’s Gavin Bade writes that, starting Oct. 14, the U.S. will impose 10% tariffs on imported timber and lumber, according to an executive order. Upholstered wooden furniture products and kitchen cabinets face 25% tariffs. Duties on the furniture products will rise to 30% at the start of 2026, and tariffs on the cabinets will rise to 50%, according to the order. The Commerce Department is authorized to alter the tariffs in the future.

Products subject to the lumber tariffs won’t be subject to Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs. Goods from select countries that have struck deals with the White House will also receive lower rates. Products from the U.K. will be charged a 10% tariff, while Japanese and European Union products will receive tariffs not exceeding 15%.

• The U.S. ambassador to China warned GOP senators that China is using its agricultural purchasing power as leverage over the U.S. in trade talks—but he hopes for a resolution soon. (WSJ)
• U.S. home prices rose 1.7% in the 12 months through July, a slower pace compared with June’s 1.9% increase. (WSJ)
• The Asian Development Bank cut its 2025 growth forecast for developing Asia to 4.8% from 4.9% due to U.S. tariffs. (WSJ)

Boeing is planning a new single-aisle airplane that would succeed the 737 MAX, according to people familiar with the matter, a bid to recover business lost to rival Airbus during a series of safety and quality problems.

The Wall Street Journal’s Benjamin Katz and Drew FitzGerald write that, earlier this year, CEO Kelly Ortberg met with officials from Rolls-Royce Holdings and discussed a new engine for the aircraft. Ortberg appointed a new senior product chief in Boeing’s commercial plane business, whose prior role was developing a new type of aircraft.

Boeing has also been designing the flight deck of a new narrow-body aircraft, according to a person familiar with the plans. This new aircraft is in early-stage development and plans are still taking shape, some of the people said.

The U.S. consumer confidence index dropped to 94.2 in September from a revised 97.8 in August, the lowest level since April. (WSJ)

Hiring and layoffs remained largely stable in August, with the layoff rate at 1.1% and the hiring rate at 3.2%. (WSJ)

The Chicago Business Barometer unexpectedly fell to 40.6 from 41.5 in August. (WSJ)

China’s official manufacturing PMI rose to 49.8 in September from 49.4 in August. (WSJ)

Annual inflation in Germany rose to 2.4% and in France to 1.1% in September, the fastest rates since early 2025. (WSJ)

Trump unveiled a direct-to-consumer website for Americans to buy drugs, dubbed TrumpRx. (WSJ)

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is in talks to buy Occidental Petroleum’s petrochemical business for around $10 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. (WSJ)

Cardinal Health is constructing a 230,000 square-foot pharmaceutical distribution center in Indianapolis. (WSJ)

Pilots for Deutsche Lufthansa’s airline and cargo unit voted in favor of a possible strike. (WSJ)

Chinese shipbuilder Yangzijiang terminated contracts for four oil tankers over concerns about the buyer’s alleged attempts to skirt U.S. sanctions. (Dow Jones Risk Journal)

Yemen's Houthi militants said they would target major U.S. oil companies such as Exxon Mobil and Chevron, despite an earlier truce with the Trump administration. (Reuters)

The Port of Montreal imposed a one-time fee of 10 Canadian dollars ($7.18) for each empty 20-foot-equivalent container. (Journal of Commerce)

Total global demand in the air-cargo market rose 4.1% in August from a year earlier, while capacity rose 3.7%. (Air Cargo News)

A grand jury indicted two companies and three executives for allegedly importing forklifts from China, disguising their origin and selling them to federal agencies as U.S.-made, the Justice Department said in a news release.

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.