The banners outside warehouses trumpeting pay increases and signing bonuses have come down. Logistics companies and other warehouse operators are reining back the incentives they rolled out to fill jobs in a tight, pandemic-era jobs market. The WSJ Logistics Report’s Liz Young writes that waning shipping demand and a looser labor environment are toning down the fierce competition that made warehousing one of the hottest jobs markets in the U.S. over recent years. The sector added nearly 700,000 workers in just over two years and hourly wages surged as online sales triggered a rush on distribution centers. But companies have shed more than 41,000 jobs since last summer. Employment of workers who shift pallets and pack online orders remains far above prepandemic levels, but operators say the urgency to hire has faded as consumer spending has shifted toward services and companies look to burn off excess inventories.

China’s move to limit exports of key minerals is likely to accelerate efforts to diversify supply chains away from the country. Beijing set the new controls for the ingredients critical to producing semiconductors, missile systems and solar cells, ramping up a showdown with the U.S. and its allies over crucial technologies. The WSJ’s Jiyoung Sohn, Yang Jie and Rhiannon Hoyle report that industrial experts don’t expect the action to immediately hit global output of chips and other products, but it sounds an alarm for countries that stand to be hit. South Korea’s government is considering the potential consequences of China’s export restrictions and pledged to do more to spread out its sourcing of materials critical to major industries. The increasingly contentious trade-related measures that Beijing and Washington have unleashed amplify the pressure on governments and multinational companies to reduce the impact from growing geopolitical risks.

• Foxconn will spend $250 million to place two factories in Vietnam to build electric-vehicle charging equipment and other electronics. (Nikkei Asia)

Global commodities markets are signaling bitter news for consumers. Prices for cocoa, the key ingredient in the world’s favorite sweet snacks, are trading at their highest level in nearly four decades. The WSJ’s Alexandra Wexler and Yusuf Khan report that strong demand, a global shortfall in production and bad weather forecasts in the major growing region in West Africa are all to blame. Benchmark cocoa futures prices in London have surged more than 32% this year to their highest level in records dating to 1985. For traders, cocoa was among the world’s best investments in the first half of the year. That’s a tough sell in U.S. consumer markets, however, where chocolate candy prices are up more than 20% since 2021. The increase is bucking downward trends for other commodities. But prices for sugar and coffee are also up, adding a sour note to retail markets.

A measure of U.S. factory activity fell in June for the eighth straight month to its lowest level since May 2020. (MarketWatch)

Spending on construction of factories rose 1% in May and was up 76.3% over the past year. (WSJ)

Rivian Automotive delivered a better-than-expected 12,640 electric vehicles last quarter. (WSJ)

Discount home-goods retailer Christmas Tree Shops is headed for liquidation after defaulting on a loan that funds its bankruptcy. (WSJ)

Japanese business sentiment improved in the second quarter as raw material costs peaked and factory output and consumption improved. (Reuters)

The employer group at British Columbia ports says contract talks with striking dockworkers have stalled. (CBC)

Maersk Line is trying to undo heavy discounting on Asia-North Europe lanes with a substantial rate increase at the end of the month. (The Loadstar)

A U.S. appeals court upheld a landmark ruling that Stolt-Nielsen bore responsibility for a fire on a Mediterranean Shipping container ship. (Maritime Executive)

Taiwan’s Yang Ming is buying five mid-sized container ships with liquefied natural gas power capability. (gCaptain)

Maersk is again trying to sell a container factory after a billion-dollar deal​ with a Chinese competitor fell through. (ShippingWatch)

Shipbroker BRS Group says secondhand tanker values are softening as demand for older vessels to carry Russian crude slackens. (TradeWinds)

Castor Maritime joined rival ship owner Danaos in taking a large stake in commodities carrier Eagle Bulk Shipping. (Splash 247)

Nikola is heading for a showdown with founder Trevor Milton after he urged other shareholders to reject the electric truck maker’s latest effort to raise cash. (Financial Times)

Class 8 used-truck sales are growing as fleets take up equipment from operators leaving the trucking sector. (FleetOwner)

Electric delivery-van builder Arrival dropped its second attempt to go public through a SPAC merger. (TechCrunch)

U.K.-based Dexory raised $19 million in a Series A funding round backing its inventory management warehouse robotics technology. (Logistics Manager)

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 Twitter at @WSJLogistics.