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

Autonomous trucking companies are rushing to tap public markets, but their road to commercial success remains anything but clear. Navigating highways without a driver in the cab is just one of the hurdles that TuSimple, Plus and other self-driving trucking startups face, the WSJ’s Heather Somerville and Jennifer Smith report, as the companies race to launch systems that backers say will cut labor costs and transit times while making roads safer. Investors have ploughed billions into autonomous ventures whose success also depends on factors outside their control, including crafting highway regulations and insurance policies for robot trucks hauling heavy loads down public roads. Recent test drives show the technology’s potential but also how far it has to go before it can operate safely without a human at the wheel. Freight-industry skepticism hasn’t stopped logistics providers from taking equity stakes in startups whose success could shave significant costs from their businesses.

WSJ Podcast: Heather Somerville and Jennifer Smith discuss self-driving trucks in this morning's Tech News Briefing podcast. Listen here.

Mounting backups at Southern California ports are adding to the pain for U.S. importers already grappling with delays ahead of the holiday season. More than three dozen container ships are anchored off the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach as surging volumes of consumer and industrial goods clog the main gateway for U.S seaborne trade and strain domestic logistics networks that are already thin on labor and equipment. The WSJ Logistics Report’s Paul Berger writes that the congestion marks a return to the worst logjams seen earlier this year, when up to 40 ships waited for berths. Some businesses such as Adidas are switching to more costly airfreight when possible, and port officials say worried shippers are pulling imports forward, adding to the crush of containers. Most must simply wait it out as a cost of accessing the best-equipped terminals to move tens of thousands of containers inland quickly.

Higher transport costs and other supply-chain disruptions are weighing on retailers as the Delta variant casts a shadow over U.S. consumer demand. Retail giant Walmart is adding extra lead time to orders and chartering vessels specifically for the company’s goods, the WSJ’s Sarah Nassauer reports, as increased supply chain costs and wage hikes muted quarterly gains in U.S. profits. The merchant said it is working with suppliers to keep prices low and that some items continue to be hard to find on store shelves. Growth at Home Depot also slowed as supply-chain snags and rising prices for materials such as lumber cut into the company’s gross margin, the WSJ Matt Grossman writes. “Raw material shortages, production constraints and pressures across modes of transportation are creating a difficult supply-chain environment,” Ted Decker, the company’s president, said. Retail sales slipped in July as Covid-19 cases rose and consumers cut back spending on goods.

The U.S. halted bulk shipments of dollars to Afghanistan to keep cash out of the Taliban’s hands. (WSJ)

U.S. retail sales fell 1.1% in July, suggesting a pullback in consumer demand. (WSJ)

Industrial production in the U.S. rose more than expected in July as manufacturing output jumped 1.4%. (WSJ)

Loaded container exports at the Port of Los Angeles fell almost 28% in July from the previous year, to the lowest level since February 2005. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Canada’s Oxford Properties Group is buying a portfolio of industrial property from KKR for $2.2 billion. (WSJ)

Ford wants to cut inventory costs by having consumers order more vehicles online from the factory instead of buying at the dealer. (WSJ)

Mining giant BHP Group is selling its oil-and-gas unit and advancing a $5.7 billion project to mine potash in Canada. (WSJ)

Sneaker company Allbirds is launching a line of wool and tree-based workout gear. (WSJ)

A historic drought is taking a heavy toll on California’s almond industry, which produces about 80% of the world’s supply. (Associated Press)

Covid-19 lockdowns are stalling manufacturing production in South Vietnam. (Journal of Commerce)

Airfreight rates from China are up nearly 61% from the previous year. (Supply Chain Dive)

Deutsche Post is buying ocean freight forwarder J.F. Hillebrand for $1.8 billion. (Reuters)

Some bulkers are being used as makeshift container ships. (Lloyds List)

Grocer Albertsons is launching a subscription delivery service. (Chain Store Age)

DHL Supply Chain is building a 970,000 square-foot warehouse on a former Alcoa site in South Lebanon Township, Pa. (LebTown)

A shortage of supplies and higher material costs are delaying road and bridge repairs in Nebraska’s Lancaster County. (KOLN)

Manhattan Beer Distributors is adding five battery-electric Volvo Class 8 trucks to its fleet. (Biz Journals)

Backlogs for new heavy-duty trucks and trailers are stretching “well into 2022,” according to ACT Research. (Fleet Owner)

American Industrial Transport bought the railcar-leasing business from agriculture supplier The Andersons for $550 million. (Progressive Railroading)

A pandemic-driven shortage of change is driving coin-operated laundry users to extreme measures. (WSJ)

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.