Trucking companies see brake lights up ahead in what should be the sector’s peak shipping season. Domestic U.S. shipping demand is receding and freight rates are falling, the WSJ Logistics Report’s Liz Young writes, in a sign that shifting demand by overstocked retailers is unraveling traditional seasonal shipping patterns. The changes are cascading across freight operations, cutting into inbound shipping volumes and bringing fewer goods onto the roads. Trucking executives say the biggest impact so far has been on spot-market business, where one measure shows rates falling from August to September for the first time since 2015. Larger carriers that depend more on long-term contract business are more insulated. But the weakness in spot demand is filtering into the bigger contract market. Trucking executives expect demand to pick up as those excess inventories are sold off, even if that doesn’t happen until after the holidays. 

• The FBI and the securities regulators are investigating U.S.-based self-driving startup TuSimple over whether it improperly financed and transferred technology to a Chinese startup. (WSJ)
• Port truckers in Southern California are scrambling for loads with container imports declining. (New York Times)
• Ruan Transportation acquired Michigan-based dedicated carrier National Truck Brokers. (DC Velocity)

China’s attempts to stamp out Covid-19 are creating big strains on one of the country’s crucial manufacturing operations. Apple supplier Foxconn Technology is scrambling to contain a weekslong Covid-19 outbreak at an iPhone factory in central China. The WSJ’s Wenxin Fan and Selina Cheng report the disruption is growing at Foxconn’s main Zhengzhou facility, the world’s biggest assembly site for iPhones. Hundreds of thousands of workers there have been placed under a closed-loop system for almost two weeks, largely shut off from the outside world. Many said they have been confined to their quarters for days and that distribution of food and other essentials has been chaotic. The disruption at Foxconn is the latest example of the economic and social toll from China’s rigid pandemic policies, including rolling lockdowns and mass testing. The turmoil now threatens to reach one of the world’s high-value, high-stakes supply chains.

Airbus is pushing its suppliers to catch up with the aircraft manufacturer’s ambitious new production plan. The European plane maker plans to ramp up output of its jets over the next year, the WSJ’s Benjamin Katz reports, despite persistent supply-chain disruption and difficulties among components makers in delivering parts. The company plans to lift production of its A320 aircraft to 65 a month by early 2024 from about 50 a month at the end of this year, an effort aimed at striking quickly as its narrow-body grabs market share from Boeing. Still, aerospace supply chains are still reeling from the historic downscaling at the start of the pandemic. Suppliers are scrambling to recover but still face labor shortages and gaps in raw materials. The delivery delays are troubling both Airbus and Boeing, but Airbus doesn’t want to wait while it has an edge over its rival.

• Icelandair is seeking by the end of this decade to become the first national flag airline to operate all its domestic routes with emissions-free aircraft. (Financial Times)

Online apparel retailer Shein is giving new meaning to the term fast fashion. The company is on track to generate revenue of $24 billion this year, the WSJ’s Jing Yang reports, putting it within striking distance of its biggest rivals just a decade since its founding in China. Shein, now based in Singapore, has a unique business model that has enabled the company to sell a large assortment of apparel directly to consumers exclusively online at ultralow prices. It says it sells 98% of the products it makes, leaving little inventory to waste. Production is based in Guangzhou, China, with a supplier network of more than 3,000 manufacturers, and ships from there. That puts delivery times behind its rivals, but that is changing. The U.S. effort is scaling up with plans for three big distribution centers that will get goods to customers faster, and could speed up Shein’s growth.

U.S. consumer spending increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.6% last month. (WSJ)

Worker pay and benefits in the U.S. rose 1.2% from the second quarter to the third quarter. (WSJ)

U.S. natural-gas prices are down more than 40% since hitting shale-era highs in late August. (WSJ)

Russia withdrew from the agreement that had allowed the export of agricultural shipments from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports. (WSJ)

European lawmakers agreed on emissions rules that will effectively ban the sale of new cars that run on gasoline beginning in 2035. (WSJ)

The two largest U.S. oil companies aren’t signaling any plans to increase production as they report big quarterly profits. (WSJ)

The Justice Department is investigating how poultry companies pay their chicken suppliers. (WSJ)

Volkswagen’s quarterly profit fell 29% on supply-chain woes, the impact of the war in Ukraine and troubles in its software business. (WSJ)

Germany’s economy expanded 0.3% in the third quarter. (Bloomberg)

Apple supplier Japan Display is selling its China-based subsidiary to a local buyer. (Nikkei Asia)

The lowest water levels in a decade on the Mississippi River are endangering transports for farmers. (Associated Press)

China’s Cosco Shipping ordered 12 methanol-powered container ships with capacity of 24,000 boxes each for $2.9 billion.  (Splash 247)

Cosco Shipping has given up its 30% stake in a container terminal under construction at Germany’s s Duisburg port. (Port Technology)

Ship operator Grimaldi Group ordered 10 car carriers designed to transport electric vehicles. (Journal of Commerce)

United Parcel Service will establish a hub in Dublin, Ireland, for the country’s medical equipment and pharmaceutical manufacturers. (Air Cargo News)

Join us on Nov. 9  for a webinar on advancing supply-chain sustainability. Speakers include Sandra MacQuillan, executive vice president and chief supply chain officer at Mondelez International, and Ravi Anupindi, professor of operations and management at Michigan Ross. Sign up here.
 

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.