The labor negotiations are back on at United Parcel Service as the deadline for a threatened strike gets closer. The package giant and the Teamsters union plan to resume negotiations on a new labor contract next week, the WSJ’s Esther Fung reports, giving them barely one week before the current contract expires and some 330,000 workers could walk off the job. If the two sides cannot reach an agreement by midnight July 31, UPS drivers and package sorters could go on strike starting Tuesday, Aug. 1. A walkout at a business that handles some 20 million parcels a day would likely trigger turmoil in supply chains and send shippers scrambling for alternative capacity. Still, UPS says it is prepared to boost pay and benefits to finalize a deal. The two sides have already made inroads on other issues, including the elimination of a two-tier system for drivers.

• Unionized UPS pilots say they’ll honor picket lines and shutter flight operations if the Teamsters workers strike. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

A nearly $6 billion Chinese-built railroad is transforming a formerly quiet town in Laos into a bustling zone of warehouses and trade, and an anchor for economic expansion. The 262-mile Laos-China Railway is the first leg of Beijing’s plan to build a connection from China’s commercial hub of Kunming deep into Thailand and Malaysia, the WSJ’s Feliz Solomon reports, knitting together the region just as North America’s first transcontinental railroad created boomtowns across the country. For China, the railroad is a sign that its Belt and Road Initiative is alive even as many projects are stalled or mired in controversy over crushing debt levels. Laos faces a steep tab for the railroad. But for now the project is making the region a hub for trade, including goods ranging from fruit to iron being exported to China, while Chinese firms snap up nearby properties to set up farms and factories.

Tesla’s electric-vehicle supply chain is churning out higher profits as the automaker builds up worldwide production. The company’s delivery of new vehicles rose 83% in the second quarter and Tesla is maintaining its production goal of about 1.8 million vehicles this year even as price reductions cut into margins. The WSJ’s Rebecca Elliott reports the company’s profit rose 20% to $2.7 billion in the second quarter even though the 47% revenue growth was well short of the expansion in deliveries. The gap is the latest sign of volatility in the EV sector, as automakers scramble to establish supply chains from raw materials to assembly lines for the new technology while softening demand triggers price cuts like Tesla’s recent reduction. India’s Tata Group is the latest company looking to scale up production, with a plan to build a $5 billion battery factory in the U.K. to supply Jaguar Land Rover.

• Car maker Stellantis struck contracts worth $11.2 billion to guarantee semiconductor supplies through 2030. (Reuters)
• Nissan joined a growing lineup of car makers that say they will use Tesla’s charging standard. (Nikkei Asia)

Construction of new homes in the U.S. fell 8% in June following a big jump the month before. (MarketWatch)

Japan’s yen has gained over 4% against the dollar since the start of July. (WSJ)

United Airlines more than tripled its second-quarter profit on a 17% increase in revenue. (WSJ) 

Chinese online retailer Temu is suing rival Shein in the U.S. over “unlawful exclusionary tactics” in their competition for American consumers. (Financial Times)

Russia is using an Arctic route to transport crude from​ Baltic ports to China. (TradeWinds)

Maersk Line is sharply raising rates on Asia-to-Mediterranean routes. (The Loadstar)

Discount retailer Ross Stores is on track to add about 100 stores this year, and eventually plans to expand by about 900 new locations. (Retail Dive)

Load-matching platform Truckstop.com acquired freight management technology provider FreightFriend for an undisclosed sum. (DC Velocity)

Load board DAT Solutions and digital freight broker Convoy reached what they called an amicable resolution of their legal disputes. (Overdrive)

CSX is testing the use of an alternative fuel based on soybean oil to power locomotives. (Progressive Railroading)

Maersk-owned marine services business Svitzer is buying tugboats that can run on cooking oil. (ShippingWatch)

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.