Amazon is trying to take the competition for warehouse workers to another level. The e-commerce giant is offering more than 750,000 U.S. hourly employees the chance to enroll in a fully paid bachelor’s degree program after 90 days of employment. The WSJ’s Chip Cutter writes that the expansion of Amazon’s educational benefits marks the latest escalation of the battle for workers beyond the minimum wage, with retailers, restaurant chains and other employers increasingly dangling the prospect of free college education in a tight labor market. Amazon is at the center of the hiring frenzy after bringing on some 400,000 employees during the pandemic. The company is looking to reduce turnover and add tens of thousands more workers as it expands its rapidly growing logistics network. Walmart and Target also are offering education-benefits programs. The stepped-up perks signal that Amazon's $15-an-hour base wage is no longer enough to attract workers.

The holiday hiring rush for parcel carriers is underway earlier than ever. United Parcel Service and the U.S. Postal Service are aiming to hire more than 140,000 workers this year, the WSJ’s Allison Prang reports, as operators try to ramp up ahead of an expected busy shipping season. The package carriers are working in a tight labor market but they are gearing up for another holiday period that is likely to be roiled by the Covid-19 pandemic. Retailers face big uncertainty over the scale of online orders against in-store sales this year as rising coronavirus cases driven by the Delta variant buffet retail trade. UPS plans to hire more than 100,000 essential seasonal workers to handle the expected bump in volume from October to January. That is about the same number as last year, but UPS is offering more and bigger bonuses to get workers on board. 

Higher commodity costs are adding to strains between manufacturers and their customers. China’s factory-gate prices jumped in August at their fastest pace in 13 years, the WSJ’s Stella Yifan Xie reports. But suppliers are having trouble passing the increases along and some have stopped accepting new orders as they struggled to absorb the costs. The stresses over raw materials come as many Chinese manufacturers wrestle with sky-high shipping costs and supply-chain bottlenecks that are delaying deliveries and undercutting cash flows. A sustained stretch of elevated input costs will add to profit-margin pressures for factory owners in the world’s second-largest economy, and push them to boost prices for buyers. So far, the rising costs appear to be hitting heavy industries such as the chemicals, iron and steel sectors harder, while prices for light industrial products such as textiles grow at a more modest pace.

The White House will mandate that employers with 100 or more employees require their workers to be vaccinated or undergo at least weekly Covid-19 testing. (WSJ)

New U.S. jobless claims fell sharply to a fresh pandemic low. (WSJ)

China is releasing oil from its crude stockpiles to counter rising prices. (WSJ)

DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats are suing New York City over its law capping the commissions the apps can charge restaurants to use their delivery services. (WSJ)

The Delta variant is derailing a rebound in air travel as Covid-19 cases rise, slowing new airline bookings and increasing cancellations. (WSJ)

Ford will stop making vehicles in India and cut about 4,000 jobs as it restructures the money-losing operations. (WSJ)

Big investors are charging into startups touting battery technologies that would make it possible for renewable energy sources to produce most U.S. electricity. (WSJ)

Retailer Lowe’s says it is bringing holiday products into its stores and warehouses earlier than originally planned. (CNBC)

Satellite manufacturers say they are working more closely with suppliers while also bringing more work in-house to battle strains in their supply chains. (Space News)

California lawmakers have drafted legislation aimed at protecting the health and safety of warehouse workers. (Reuters)

Online pet products retailer Chewy plans to open three additional automated fulfillment centers in the U.S. over the next 14 months. (Supply Chain Dive)

China’s WeRide will work with delivery company ZTO Express to commercialize its first self-driving cargo van. (TechCrunch)

FTR expects truck manufacturing production to remain behind demand until 2023. (Commercial Carrier Journal)

CMA CGM is freezing its daily freight rates until February. (Lloyd’s List)

Groups representing ocean carriers and seafarers reached agreement on a 4.5% pay increase over the next two years. (Splash 247)

Logistics provider Wavepoint 3PL acquired Pennsylvania-based Alcor Cold Storage and its 2 million cubic feet of refrigerated capacity. (DC Velocity)

Amazon paid $84.5 million for 133 acres just north of Miami to build a fulfillment center. (TheRealDeal)

DHL is using autonomous cleaning robots at 60 warehouses around the world. (Modern Materials Handling)

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.