Today's newsletter was written by WSJ Logistics Report's Jennifer Smith.

Skechers USA is doubling down on distribution. The footwear company is opening new warehouses in the U.K., China and beyond, the WSJ’s Mark Maurer reports, to meet increased demand as more online shoppers seek out comfortable shoes during the pandemic. Skechers boosted its global distribution space to 5.1 million square feet at the end of last year, up from 4 million before Covid-19. The company is planning a roughly 43% expansion of an existing big-box warehouse in Southern California’s logistics-heavy Inland Empire region, and spent about $66 million this year to expand another facility in the state. It’s also splashing out on automation to speed up fulfillment, a move that helped comfy-shoe rival Crocs nearly triple its productivity. Those steps, while costly, should reap long-term rewards for Skechers, says Stifel analyst James Duffy: “It’s not just additional square footage. The systems and processes support better throughput and better productivity.”

Renewed appetite for travel is pumping up profits in one corner of the energy sector. Refiners are benefiting from higher gasoline prices despite pressures including Covid-19 worries weighing on other parts of the global oil complex. The WSJ’s Joe Wallace writes that refiners like Marathon Petroleum stand to gain when the fuel they produce fetch higher prices than the crude they purchase to make it, a gap known as the crack spread that this week hit close to the highest level since data extending back to 2016. Refiners have revved up operations and are running at about 91% capacity, compared with less than 80% a year before. The rising fuel costs are hitting truckers as well as road-trippers. The average U.S. per-gallon price for diesel hit $3.356 for the week ending Aug. 16, down from the previous week but still up 92.9 cents per gallon from a year ago, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Lumber isn’t the only way to make money from timber, the hot housing market notwithstanding. Demand for carbon offsets means some trees around the Great Lakes and in New England are worth more standing than they would be chopped down and processed, the WSJ’s Ryan Dezember reports, as businesses looking to meet air-quality regulations or show environmental bona fides load up on the climate-change currency. The growing market could be a boon for states like Michigan, which has agreed to limit logging for four decades in a state-owned forest known as the “Big Wild” through a pact with DTE Energy that could reap more than $10 million over the next decade. Great Lakes states control big tracts of timber, and mills there have a hard time competing with rivals in the South, the leading producer of softwood lumber, which is used to build homes. About 65% of Michigan’s forest acres are eligible for offsets, and some 25 states are weighing similar moves.

New home construction in the U.S. fell 7% in July from the previous month. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Two U.S. senators asked the Federal Trade Commission to probe Tesla’s autopilot claims. (WSJ)

The Environmental Protection Agency is banning the use of farm pesticide chlorpyrifos on food. (WSJ)

Target’s online sales moderated in the second quarter as more shoppers returned to stores. (WSJ)

Graphics-chip maker Nvidia’s net profit nearly quadrupled in the quarter to $2.37 billion on strong demand from gamers and cryptocurrency miners. (WSJ)

Factory automation startup Rapid Robotics raised $37 million as the sector draws increased investment in a tight labor market. (WSJ)

The son of WH Group’s chairman said the company, which owns Smithfield Foods, engaged in fraud under his father’s leadership. (WSJ) 

Lowe’s raised its sales forecast for the year as efforts to expand its share of professional customers gained traction. (CNBC)

Burger King parent Restaurant Brands expects beef costs to rise as the labor shortage crimps staffing at meatpacking plants. (Bloomberg)

Amazon has surpassed Walmart to become the world’s largest retail seller outside China, according to corporate and industry data. (New York Times)

Zim Integrated Shipping raised its adjusted profit guidance for the year after reporting a 199% jump in quarterly revenue. (Investor's Business Daily)

DP World said testing showed a fully automated container storage system at its Dubai terminal was faster and more energy-efficient than anticipated. (Splash 247)

Airlines and forwarders are tightening shipping requirements for freight as they work around U.S. airport congestion. (Air Cargo World)

Atlanta-based global forwarder JAS is buying Greencarrier Freight Services International. (Air Cargo News)

Alphabet’s Waymo autonomous driving unit is building a trucking hub in Texas and partnering with Ryder on fleet maintenance. (Forbes)

China halted direct freight trains to Lithuania in a growing geopolitical dispute over Taiwan. (South China Morning Post)

Supply-chain services company Savage is building a railport at a Kansas City Southern rail yard in Mossville, La. (Railway Age)

A shortage of fuel-delivery drivers has led to sporadic outages at some gas stations. (NPR)

Baker Development is building a $150 million industrial park outside Phoenix. (RE Business Online)

A new automated Amazon warehouse in Delaware is offering new hires $3,000 signing bonuses. (Delaware Online)

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

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