A recent surge in Covid-19 cases in Southeast Asia is reverberating across the world’s commodities supply chains. Restrictions in Malaysia and Vietnam have throttled ports and locked down raw-materials producers and processors, the WSJ’s Jon Emont reports, sparking extended disruptions in goods including palm oil, tin and coffee. Prices for each of these commodities have risen to multiyear highs, adding costs that are being passed on to consumers. The strains in markets for such key materials highlight the fragile state of the global economy as countries try to emerge from the pandemic while cases and deaths flare up. Rigid curbs on travel in Malaysia have plantations struggling to find workers, leading to diminished output and higher prices for the palm oil that is a key ingredient in countless consumer goods. Southeast Asia nations hope to reduce the restrictions in coming months but the impact on commodities will likely continue.

Natural-gas buyers are raising alarms as markets for the fuel defy traditional seasonal trends. U.S. natural-gas futures have been skyrocketing, with a 17% leap in prices this month, the WSJ’s Ryan Dezember reports, adding to turbulence in energy markets during what is normally the offseason for natural gas demand. Rock-bottom gas prices have been a reliable feature of the U.S. economy since the financial crisis, but prices this winter could reach new heights unknown during the shale era, which transformed the U.S. from a gas importer to supplier to the world. U.S. natural gas stockpiles are estimated to be down 16.5% from less a year ago, adding to concerns over a potential squeeze on supplies this winter. European natural gas stores are also short, and fertilizer producer CF Industries said last week it was halting production at a U.K. plant because of high natural gas prices.

U.S. seafood companies are facing a supply chain challenge of uncommon scale. A crackdown on shipping practices aimed at skirting U.S. transportation law has left millions of pounds of frozen fish stranded in cold storage at a Canadian port, the WSJ’s Jesse Newman reports, while seafood processors on the American side of the border scramble for supplies to keep plants running and fill orders. The conflict is over the maritime Jones Act, which requires that domestic U.S. cargo be transported on U.S.-built and flagged vessels. Alaskan suppliers have been transloading shipments for the lower 48 states to sidestep the requirement, in part by rolling the fish on a 100-foot railroad. The impasse is focusing attention on the century-old Jones Act, but the practical impact now is that buyers are looking for alternatives while suppliers consider shipping tons of whitefish on long, likely more expensive North American rail routes.

The world is off track on meeting Paris climate accord targets. (WSJ)

The top U.S. crash investigator says Tesla is pushing out upgrades to its driver-assistance software before addressing safety deficiencies in its technology. (WSJ)

Workers at snack-food maker Mon­delez In­ternational ended a week­s­long strike as union mem­bers ac­cepted a new four-year con­tract. (WSJ)

Hezbollah is delivering Iranian fuel by truck to Lebanon to alleviate an energy crisis in the country. (WSJ)

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are expanding gate and terminal hours and taking other steps to speed the flow of containers through the congested gateways. (Daily Breeze)

The world’s major maritime competition regulators have found no evidence of collusion between container lines or the big three global alliances. (Lloyd’s List)

British retailer John Lewis has started to charter ships to move containers ahead of the holidays. (Evening Standard)

South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries raised nearly $1 billion in an initial public stock offering. (Korea Times)

Mediterranean Shipping Co. is trying to buy Brazilian domestic operator Log-In Logistica. (TradeWinds)

Retailer Big Lots is setting up "pop-up" distribution centers to bypass its standard logistics network to get holiday imports to stores faster. (Supply Chain Dive)

U.K. farmers have sharply reduced fruit and vegetable plantings because labor shortages have left crops wilting. (Financial Times)

Amazon is building two 1 million-square-foot distribution centers in Pasco, Wash. (Tri-City Herald)

Pitney Bowes says Amazon surpassed FedEx in parcel volume last year with 4.2 billion shipments. (Modern Retail)

The DeepWay subsidiary of Chinese technology company Baidu is advancing plans for a self-driving heavy-duty truck. (South China Morning Post)

CBRE says U.S. industrial real-estate leasing activity soared 52% in the first seven months of the year. (Logistics Management)

British grocer Co-op and Starship Technologies will deploy 500 robots for home-delivery across the U.K. (Logistics Manager)

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. and @LydsOneal. Follow the WSJ Logistics Report on Twitter at @WSJLogistics.