The outlook for container shipping is moving in lockstep with events in the Middle East. Shares of big shipping companies including Cosco Shipping and A.P. Moller-Maersk fell sharply, the WSJ’s Jiahui Huang reports, amid expectations of falling freight rates after Hamas reportedly signaled approval for a cease-fire in Gaza. The sudden drop in share prices highlights the high stakes any signals of change carry in a tight transport market. Shippers are balancing the need to ensure they have goods in place for the fall with the potential for a sharp decline in prices if a cease-fire can open up the Red Sea to traffic again. Freight rates have been on a steep upward path since late April. The steady price increases and shipping delays are pressuring shippers to lock in deals for the upcoming peak shipping season, and signs are that many are pulling forward fall orders.

• Shipowner Danaos struck charter agreements worth $616 million, including deals for five new containerships. (WSJ)

Labor relations in Canada’s freight transport networks are looking fragile this summer. The country narrowly averted a new disruption at its Pacific Coast ports after a labor board cut off the walkout before it got started. The WSJ’s Paul Vieira reports Canada’s Industrial Relations Board deemed as illegal a strike notice from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and moved to bring the two sides back to the bargaining table. Another strike would have represented the second consecutive summer of labor disruption at Canada’s west coast gateways, which handle about a quarter of the country’s annual trade. There’s no contract agreement yet, however, and Canada still faces the possibility of simultaneous strikes this summer at the country’s two biggest railroads. At the same time, negotiations still haven’t started on a contract at U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast ports, with the current pact set to expire Sept. 30.

• Canadian border agents overwhelmingly ratified a four-year labor agreement. (Trucking Dive)

Devon Energy is acquiring Williston Basin oil-and-gas producer Grayson Mill Energy. (WSJ)

Danish brewer Carlsberg is buying London-listed soft drinks maker Britvic. (WSJ)

China added Shanghai to a list of top-tier cities allowing the use of driverless robotaxis with no safety supervisors present. (WSJ)

Chinese carmaker BYD will place a $1 billion automotive plant in western Turkey, its second European production site. (Nikkei Asia)

BYD bought a 20% stake in its distributor in Thailand after opening a factory in the country. (South China Morning Post)

The U.S. is in talks with countries including Costa Rica to establish semiconductor assembly plants to help build chip supply chains beyond China. (New York Times)

Cyber security experts say Shein’s plan to sell its supply-chain technology and services to other companies poses risks of spying by China. (CNBC)

Ardmore Shipping named Chief Commercial Officer Gernot Ruppelt to replace Anthony Gurnee as CEO on the founder’s retirement. (Dow Jones Newswires)

A U.S. court overturned a regulator’s finding that Evergreen Marine had unfairly imposed detention charges on a trucking company. (Lloyd’s List)

Sun Country Airlines added eight 747 freighters to its operating agreement with Amazon. (Supply Chain Dive)

Surfers in the San Francisco Bay are riding dangerously close to containerships in attempts to catch swells. (San Jose Mercury-News)

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

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