The growing interest in logistics infrastructure has big investors looking at freight railroads. A group of big buyout specialists including Blackstone Group Inc.’s infrastructure arm and Global Infrastructure Partners is considering a takeover bid for Kansas City Southern, the WSJ’s Cara Lombardo and Miriam Gottfried report, setting up a potential deal that could be worth more than $21 billion. A buyout would be a big bet on U.S.-Mexico trade, a key business line for Kansas City Southern that brings the railroad significant volumes of automotive and other cross-border traffic. It would take the railroad private as the carrier is resetting operations under the efficiency plan known was precision railroading. Any agreement would mark a rare shift in ownership among top North American railroads. Most deal-making in recent years has focused on tactical moves like Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.’s recent acquisition of the regional Central Maine & Quebec Railway.

Saw mills that hunkered down for a coronavirus-driven downturn now are struggling to keep up with strong demand. Lumber consumption across the U.S. has exceeded even optimistic forecasts, the WSJ’s Julia-Ambra Verlaine and Ryan Dezember report, leaving home builders, retailers and craftspeople clamoring for wood. Lumber futures have more than doubled since early April, when mill owners curtailed roughly 40% of North America’s sawing capacity. They expected widespread job loss and economic uncertainty would torpedo demand for building products. Instead, homebound Americans embraced home-improvement projects while home builders are rushing to meet soaring demand for houses amid rock-bottom interest rates and a flight to the suburbs. A pricing service says buyers in the South desperate to avoid running out of inventory told suppliers to “name their price.” The turmoil in lumber markets shows how the pandemic has turned some markets upside down and made forecasting little more than guesswork.

Honeywell International Inc. is looking for acquisition targets and that could signal consolidation in supply-chain technology markets. The industrial conglomerate plans to use its liquidity to scoop up other companies amid lower valuations, the WSJ’s Mark Maurer reports, reasoning that expansion through investment may make more sense than building the technology itself. Finance chief Greg Lewis says Honeywell is targeting companies that could expand capabilities such as connected industrial software, known as “connected enterprise” offerings, possibly through artificial intelligence. The company recently hired Emily McNeal, formerly of Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart, as its global head of M&A. Honeywell has used acquisitions to bulk up in logistics before, buying warehouse automation provider Intelligrated in 2016. That Honeywell unit recently said in a report that it expects companies to invest more in logistics automation thanks to the “sudden and seismic shift in the global supply chain” from the coronavirus pandemic.

Fuel maker Marathon Petroleum said it has agreed to sell its gas stations to the owners of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain for $21 billion in the largest U.S. energy-related deal of the year. (WSJ)

U.S. fuel makers slashed production during the second quarter as they reeled from a historic decline in demand for gasoline and jet fuel. (WSJ)

U.S. consumer spending rose 5.6% in June, but fresher evidence shows households pulled back in July. (WSJ)

An official gauge of China’s factory activity expanded at a faster pace in July. (WSJ)

A measure of the dollar against other currencies recently fell to a two-year low. (WSJ)

Caterpillar expects continued steep declines in industrial machinery demand after second-quarter revenue fell 37%, including a more than 40% drop in the U.S. (WSJ)

General Motors plans to set up 2,700 fast-charging stations across the U.S. for electric vehicles. (WSJ)

Luxury department store chain Lord & Taylor filed for bankruptcy along with its owner, fashion-rental subscription service Le Tote. (WSJ)

Offshore oil-and-gas rig operator Noble filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. (WSJ)

Energy company Denbury Resources plans to hand ownership over to creditors as part of a bankruptcy strategy. (WSJ)

The parent of British Airways lost a record $4.51 billion in the second quarter. (WSJ)

Neiman Marcus will relinquish part of the MyTheresa online business under a deal with creditors aimed at helping the retail chain exit bankruptcy protection. (WSJ)

Sports apparel maker Under Armour expects sales to fall 25% this year. (WSJ)

Indonesia is seeking new markets for its big thermal coal exports as demand from India and China slows. (New York Times)

A meager wheat harvest in Europe has global buyers looking elsewhere for grains. (Bloomberg)

Philadelphia residents are reporting mail delivery delays stretching for days and even weeks in some cases. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines expects more car carriers to be scrapped after it carried 406,000 fewer vehicles in its fiscal first quarter. (Lloyd’s List)

Japanese logistics company Sankyu will build a 215,280-square-foot hub at Malaysia’s Port Klang. (Nikkei Asian Review)

XPO Logistics lost $57 million on an adjusted basis and revenue fell 17% to $3.5 billion. (The Loadstar)

Logistics operator DB Schenker’s first-half operating profit rose 16.8% to $327.5 million despite a 0.7% decline in revenue. (Lloyd’s Loading List)

Freight forwarder DSV Panalpina reinstated its earnings guidance after second-quarter operating profit jumped 63% before special items. (Reuters)

Hong Kong-based Kerry Logistics projects a strong gain in earnings on cross-border demand tied to pandemic medical supplies. (South China Morning Post)

Warehouse equipment maker Interroll completed its second factory in the Atlanta area. (Modern Materials Handling)

Second-quarter earnings at comfortable-shoes maker Crocs rose 71.2%. (Footwear News)

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

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