Walmart is taking the biggest step yet to overhaul ingredients used in America’s food supply. The country’s largest grocer said it was working to remove synthetic dyes from all its store-brand foods, including Great Value, Marketside, Freshness Guaranteed and Bettergoods. 

The Wall Street Journal’s Jesse Newman and Sarah Nassauer report that Walmart also plans to eliminate 30 other ingredients, ranging from certain artificial sweeteners to preservatives. Many big food companies are working to shift away from artificial ingredients as the Trump administration and its “Make America Healthy Again” movement take aim at processed food.

Walmart’s heft makes its plans likely to trigger further changes throughout the nation’s food-supply chain, from ingredient suppliers to other food makers and retailers. The move comes as U.S. consumers have shifted more of their food spending to store brands as they try to save money. Walmart said it is working to keep its prices in check despite the ingredient changes, which are set to wrap up by January 2027.

• Amazon launched a private label food brand called Amazon Grocery, combining products sold under the Amazon Fresh and Happy Belly brands. (Dow Jones Newswires)
• Corteva, formed after being spun off from DowDupont in 2019, plans to separate its seed and pesticide businesses into two distinct companies. (WSJ)
• General Mills is closing three manufacturing plants in Missouri to boost the competitiveness of the packaged-food giant’s supply chain. (WSJ)
• Conagra logged lower profit and sales, hurt by inflation and shoppers cutting back on snacks. (WSJ)
• Cal-Maine Foods is betting on specialty eggs and prepared foods to fuel growth, after the segments drove earnings and sales higher. (WSJ)
• Tate & Lyle, a U.K. provider of ingredients for food and beverages, expects lower revenue and earnings for fiscal 2026 on slowing demand. (WSJ)

The U.S. government is taking a 5% stake in Lithium Americas and a 5% stake in the Canadian company’s Nevada mining project, restructuring a $2.26 billion U.S. government loan agreement from 2024.

The government is aiming to boost the U.S. supply chain for lithium, a critical mineral used in EV batteries, smartphones and renewable-energy storage, the Journal’s Tali Arbel writes. The U.S. is seeking to reduce reliance on overseas suppliers and ease China’s grip on the lithium market.

Lithium Americas has been in negotiations with the Energy Department and General Motors—its partner in the Thacker Pass Nevada lithium mine—over the terms of the $2.26 billion loan. The Energy Department said the revised deal includes more than $100 million of new equity, adding the changes protected taxpayers.

• U.S. nuclear utilities face a possible shortage of uranium because of supply-chain challenges, the Energy Information Administration. said. (Bloomberg)

The expiration of a U.S. program allowing duty-free textile imports from Haiti is expected to crush what is left of the biggest industry in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country. The Journal’s Kejal Vyas writes that the HOPE/HELP trade program had drawn American apparel manufacturers and created tens of thousands of jobs in the industry that accounted for 90% of Haiti’s exports.

U.S. lawmakers and Haitian businesses said the end of the program will deepen poverty and bolster gang recruitment while costing jobs in factories that produce clothing for brands including Hanes, Calvin Klein, Gap and Victoria’s Secret as the industry relocates to Asia. The expiration means U.S. importers of Haitian-made clothing will be subject to import duties of between 20% and 30%, in addition to the 10% “reciprocal tariff” leveled by the Trump administration.

• The European Union is set to propose 50% tariffs on steel imports above a certain level to protect the continent’s struggling industry. (WSJ)
• Taiwan’s top trade representative has pushed back on the idea of shifting more chip production to the U.S. as the tariff tug-of-war continues. (WSJ)
• Trump said he would direct some tariff revenue to soybean farmers hit by a lack of Chinese buying, and said he would raise the issue with President Xi. (WSJ)
• Nike now expects tariff costs to hit $1.5 billion this fiscal year, up from the $1 billion executives projected three months ago. (WSJ)

U.S. factory activity contracted for the seventh straight month, but at a slower pace, with the purchasing managers’ index at 49.1 in September. (WSJ)

The U.S. private sector shed 32,000 jobs in September, a decline from August’s revised loss of 3,000, according to ADP. (WSJ)

Eurozone annual inflation rose to 2.2% in September from 2.0% in August. (WSJ)

Sentiment among large Japanese manufacturers brightened slightly after Tokyo struck a trade deal with Washington. (WSJ)

South Korea’s exports rose 12.7% year-over-year to $65.95 billion in September, beating forecasts. (WSJ)

Asian factory activity shows divergence with Japan and Taiwan reporting deteriorating demand, while South Korea and China see growth. (WSJ)

Automakers are racing to unload EVs on dealer lots now that a $7,500 tax credit that juiced EV sales for years has expired.

The Trump administration said it is withholding $18 billion in infrastructure funds for some major transportation projects in New York City. (WSJ)

Stellantis and Mistral AI are expanding their partnership to speed up adoption of AI across the automaker’s operations. (WSJ)

Semiconductor-equipment companies Axcelis Technologies and Veeco Instruments agreed to merge to create a combined company with an enterprise value of $4.4 billion. (WSJ)

Telecommunications providers Telenor and Vodafone formed a procurement partnership to save costs and strengthen supply chains. (WSJ)

The Port of Philadelphia acquired the 152-acre Mustin Yard from Norfolk Southern for $90 million. (Philadelphia Business Journal)

Low water levels are threatening to restrict barge traffic on the Mississippi River as harvest season reaches its peak. (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.