The shelves at Amazon’s Carteret, N.J., warehouse come to the workers instead of the workers going to the shelves. The e-commerce behemoth uses about 45,000 four-sided shelving units that it calls pods at the 1.3-million-square-foot facility, the WSJ’s Richard Vanderford reports, with most workers at the site barred from entering the area as the pods shuffle, scurry and slide to get goods into position for distribution. Amazon calls the approach a “goods-to-person” strategy. The design uses artificial intelligence and sensors to promote a mix of efficiency, ergonomics and safety, the latest in an escalating level of automation the company is rolling out at its sprawling distribution centers. Although U.S. workers are leery of AI, safety appears to be a major benefit. Amazon said its lost-time injury rate has fallen 69% from 2019 to 2022. Last year, lost-time injury rates were 21% higher at sites that didn’t use robotics technology.

• Orders for industrial robots fell 37% in the second quarter from last year and were off 29% from the first quarter. (DC Velocity)
• Walmart boosted its holdings in Flipkart to 80% of the Indian e-commerce company. (TechCrunch)

The bullwhip effect is hitting U.S. food supply chains. After pushing its plants and staff to increase chicken production as the Covid-19 pandemic eased, Tyson Foods is shuttering plants in a bid to cut costs and trim excess supplies of nuggets, wings and breasts. The WSJ’s Patrick Thomas reports Tyson’s chicken business is grappling with flat demand and falling wholesale prices, which some observers say Tyson itself exacerbated by ramping up production. The company’s supply woes are in part the result of the volatile swings across consumer and commodity markets since the pandemic began. Chicken companies such as Tyson and Pilgrim’s Pride Farms rushed to meet surging consumer demand as the pandemic receded, and capturing market share became central to Tyson’s efforts to fix its struggling chicken business. By late 2022, labor challenges had eased, chicken prices were plunging and it became evident that Tyson had miscalculated demand.

Forward Air has accomplished the rare feat of straining relations with investors so much that its stock has plummeted almost 40%. The expedited trucker’s acquisition of freight forwarder Omni Logistics last month carries an enterprise value of $3.2 billion, but Omni’s private-equity owners will receive just $150 million in cash. The WSJ’s Jon Sindreu writes in a Heard on the Street column that most of the payment will come in stock that could end up amounting to 38% of the combined company. It’s a complicated transaction that will leave shareholders with little choice but to massively dilute their holdings by voting for the deal. The acquisition will sharply raise Forward Air’s debt, but the trucker forecasts big efficiencies. CEO Thomas Schmitt argues that a vertically integrated business cutting out middlemen will accelerate growth. The reaction of investors and market observers suggests deep skepticism that the combination will yield results.

Orders for U.S. manufactured goods fell 2.1% in July, the first decline in five months. (MarketWatch)

Diesel prices are rising faster than the price of regular gas as crude oil markets signal more increases are coming. (WSJ)

United Airlines paused its flights across the U.S. because of a technology glitch. (WSJ)

Albemarle made a new offer for Australia’s Liontown Resources that values the business at $4.25 billion, making it potentially one of the biggest-ever lithium deals. (WSJ)

The Munich car show provides stark signs that German automakers are falling behind Chinese manufacturers and Tesla in producing electric vehicles. (WSJ)

Volkswagen will work more closely with its Tier-1 suppliers on procurement of semiconductors and other parts. (Automotive Logistics)

Japanese steelmaker JFE will raise $1.37 billion through share and bond sales to fund carbon-cutting efforts, including production of steel for electric vehicles. (Nikkei Asia)

Luxembourg-based auto parts supplier IAC named Larry Vano as chief procurement officer. (Procurement)

Clarksons Research says global seaborne trade has resumed growing this year on improving Chinese demand. (TradeWinds)

Norwegian regulators approved a Chinese shipbuilders’ design for what would be the world’s largest liquefied natural gas carrier. (ShippingWatch)

The order book for new car carriers has surged to 30% of the current global fleet capacity. (Lloyd’s List)

Failed U.K. retailer Wilko is closing 52 stores and laying off hundreds of workers, including around 300 at two distribution centers. (The Guardian)

Retailer Ulta Beauty has tripled to 400 the number of stores it uses to ship online orders. (Supply Chain Dive)

Shuttered corporate headquarters sites are being converted to data and logistics distribution centers. (Chicago Tribune)

United Parcel Service is offering buyouts to 167 of its senior airline pilots. (WDRB)

China Southern became the latest airline to stop operating the Airbus A380 superjumbo. (FlightGlobal)

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.