The push by consumer-goods suppliers to reach shoppers directly is opening a new market for supply-chain technology providers. Companies including Manhattan Associates and Blue Yonder are among the software specialists that say the direct-to-consumer trend is bringing them new customers. The WSJ’s Akiko Matsuda reports the companies are finding opportunities in the blurring lines between manufacturers and retailers as suppliers of everything from footwear and apparel to electronics makers seek digital paths to bypass retail storefronts. E-commerce capabilities helped launch the trend, but it has accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic as shoppers have sought alternatives to brick-and-mortar stores. The logistics of direct-to-consumer sales can be very different from the operations to supply retail stores, requiring separate inventory management tailored to individual items rather than wholesale consignments. Shipping operations are also different, as companies look to track and deliver goods to residences rather than to loading docks.

Ukraine’s grain export operations are gaining traction even as the war on land is taking troubling turns. Two multi-ship convoys carrying food products have left Ukrainian ports in recent days, the WSJ’s Ian Lovett and Jared Malsin report, while the arrival of the first inbound commercial cargo vessel at the Port of Odessa signaled authorities may be able to continue the grain-shipping operation. Food in the shipments is considered vital to efforts to avert a global food crisis, while the export revenue is crucial for Ukraine’s struggling economy. Russia still faces plummeting export revenues due to sanctions and restrictions on its currency. Ukraine says its next step under a shipping agreement is to ensure Ukraine’s ports can handle more than 100 ships a month. In the meantime, explosions at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar are raising fears of a nuclear catastrophe. 

China’s military actions in the waters around Taiwan have been shaking regional shipping operations. More than 200 vessels have moved away from zones blocked by Chinese bombardments and ships, the WSJ’s Costas Paris reports, with some cutting short scheduled loadings at Taiwan’s ports for importers across Asia. Brokers said ship traffic at Taiwan’s big export hubs of Kaohsiung and Keelung fell by a third after Beijing fired missiles across the crucial Taiwan Strait in protest of a visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. They said the Chinese navy and air force carried out maneuvers 16 miles from the entrance to the Kaohsiung harbor. For some companies, the new actions may bolster the case for shifting supply chains and moving production as a guard against geopolitical disruptions. Kaohsiung is a gateway for Taiwanese semiconductor chips and an export hub for diesel natural gas, gasoline and petrochemicals.

The U.S. added 528,000 jobs in July, far exceeding expectations and recouping the 22 million jobs that were lost early in the pandemic. (WSJ)

Trucking companies added 3,500 jobs last month as logistics operations most closely tied to e-commerce pulled back payrolls. (Dow Jones Newswires)

China’s exports surged 18% in July as Covid-triggered supply-chain disruptions eased. (WSJ) 

United Parcel Service is buying Italian medical-products logistics specialist Bomi Group for an undisclosed sum. (WSJ)

Amazon extended its reach into connected home products with the $1.7 billion acquisition of Roomba maker iRobot. (WSJ)

Venture-capital firm VMG Catalyst raised a $400 million fund to target startups developing supply-chain technology for retail and consumer-brand businesses. (WSJ)

Shares in Hyzon Motors plummeted after the fuel cell-powered truck maker warned of myriad issues, including accounting regularities, and delayed its second-quarter filing. (MarketWatch)

Germany’s Rhine river could be closed to commercial traffic in the coming days because of low water levels. (The Guardian)

Samsung Electronics plans to begin making semiconductor parts in Vietnam next year. (Nikkei Asia)

Europe’s robust warehouse market is faltering under rising interest rates and cooling e-commerce demand. (Financial Times)

Deutsche Post DHL’s second-quarter operating profit jumped 12.2% to about $2.3 billion as group revenue rose 23.4% to about $24.4 billion. (Post & Parcel)

Workers at the U.K.’s Port of Felixstowe plan to go on an eight-day strike starting August 21. (Splash 247)

Sea-Intelligence says global container shipping schedule reliability improved in June to 40%, the highest level since March 2021. (Port Technology)

The Baltic Exchange measure for very large crude carriers pricing moved into positive territory for the first time since January 2021. (TradeWinds)

Canadian electric truck and bus maker Lion Electric swung to a $3.5 million second-quarter loss despite increasing deliveries. (Today’s Trucking)

Missouri-based startup Orange EV raised $35 million backing its business providing electric tractors for freight yards. (DC Velocity)

Supply-chain technology startup Slync.io fired CEO Chris Kirchner and started laying off staff. (Insider)

Avocado prices are skyrocketing as weather and war drive a shortage. (Fortune)

Rail executive Hays T. Watkins, who died at 96, extended rail giant CSX into other transport modes in a push toward one-stop shipping. (WSJ)

Paul Page is editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Write to 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.