Chinese battery companies are spreading their supply chains overseas in hopes of bypassing U.S. rules aimed at shutting them out of the American electric-vehicle market. Businesses that supply crucial raw materials for EV batteries have been pursuing deals with U.S. free-trade partners South Korea and Morocco. The WSJ’s Rachel Liang and Liza Lin report that Chinese suppliers are hoping to supply companies eligible for U.S. government incentives and to tap into growing U.S. production of batteries and electric cars despite restrictions aimed at penning in Chinese suppliers. It’s the latest sign of how supply chains supporting electric vehicles are being shaped to respond to both demand and geopolitical complications. Chinese companies this year have struck deals worth more than $4.5 billion in South Korea, while at least four Chinese firms plan to build plants in Morocco, a country rich in phosphates, a key raw material for batteries.

• Stellantis and Samsung will build a second EV battery plant in Kokomo, Ind. (CNN)
• South Korea’s LG Energy Solution will invest $3 billion in a Michigan battery plant under a supply deal with Toyota. (MLive)
• The U.S. may drop sanctions against an Israeli mining magnate so he can strike deals with Saudi Arabia for metals crucial to EV batteries. (WSJ)
• Japan plans to designate advanced electronics components as critical goods whose supply chains will receive state support. (Nikkei Asia)

ExxonMobil is placing a big bet on the U.S. oil patch. The energy giant is buying Pioneer Natural Resources in a nearly $60 billion deal, the WSJ’s Collin Eaton and Benoît Morenne report, tying Exxon’s future more closely to fossil fuels and cementing its status as the dominant player in the U.S. fracking industry. Exxon had scoured the globe for untapped reserves of oil before frackers unleashed vast amounts of domestic production. Analysts estimate that some 45% of Exxon’s barrels will now come from the U.S. Pioneer has more drill sites than almost all of its rivals in the West Texas region at the heart of the fracking sector. So far, consolidation in the U.S. oil sector has led to the deployment of fewer drilling rigs, however. Drillers have been cautious about boosting output when prices rise because of investor pressure to focus on returns instead of growth.

• TotalEnergies struck a 27-year agreement with Qatar to secure liquefied natural gas. (Financial Times)

Producer prices in the U.S. expanded 0.5% from August to September. (MarketWatch)

The United Auto Workers union went on strike at at a Ford pickup-truck plant in Kentucky, the automaker’s largest factory. (WSJ)

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing is expected to get another waiver to continue its production in China despite U.S. restrictions. (WSJ)

Americans’ appetite for “revenge travel” is fizzling out for budget passenger airlines. (WSJ)

A tanker operating in the shadow fleet carrying Russian crude was adrift in the Indian Ocean. (Bloomberg)

South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean is reportedly seeking to buy U.S. Jones Act shipbuilder Philly Shipyard. (Maritime Executive)

Shipping lines are watching for whether U.S. regulators will follow the European Commission in cracking down antitrust allowances for carriers. (Splash 247)

China’s Cosco Shipping expects its operating profit for the first nine months of 2023 to fall 77% to $4.5 billion. (Journal of Commerce)

Supply-chain software company E2open named Andrew Appel interim CEO after Michael Farlekas resigned. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Microsoft is shutting down its Supply Chain Center platform and will include its tools in other products. (Supply Chain Dive)

Consumer-products supplier Conair is building a 2.1 million-square-foot distribution center in Hagerstown, Md. (Herald-Mail)

Dollar General is reopening an Arkansas distribution center that was shut down after a rat infestation. (WREG)

A global sugar shortage triggered by extreme weather threatens to raise candy prices ahead of Halloween. (New York Post)

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.