Estes Express Lines is taking a crucial role in the selloff of assets at bankrupt rival trucker Yellow. Estes struck a deal to buy Yellow’s sprawling network of truck terminals for a minimum of $1.3 billion, the WSJ’s Soma Biswas reports, giving the shuttered business enough to roughly cover the loans the company accumulated before its collapse. Estes had been looking to finance Yellow’s wind-down in bankruptcy but instead will serve as a so-called stalking-horse bidder for the properties. That means its bid is subject to better proposals at a court-supervised auction. Yellow said lender Citadel and hedge fund MFN Partners will jointly provide a $142 million bankruptcy loan. Estes, the No. 5 operator in the less-than-truckload market, already has 280 terminals across North America. Other rivals say they’re also interested in Yellow’s properties, many considered prime sites in a trucking market in which it’s difficult to build terminals.

Retail sales at Walmart are up and inventory is down, offering some optimism for businesses focused on consumer goods. Walmart’s U.S. comparable-store sales rose 6.4% in the past quarter, led by a 24% gain in e-commerce business. The WSJ’s Sarah Nassauer reports the country’s largest retailer by revenue also raised its financial outlook, although Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey says there are “still reasons to be very cautious.” Profits at the parent of Walmart and Sam’s Club got a boost, in part, because last year the company heavily discounted items to clear inventory as pandemic-driven consumer buying trends abruptly ended. Walmart’s inventories at the end of the quarter were down 5.3% from last year, the latest sign that industry-wide destocking efforts are reaching the bottom line. Home Depot said this week its inventories were down 10.8% from a year ago while Target slashed its inventories 17.2%.

The latest innovation in supply-chain tracking devices turns out to be edible. Italian producers of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese are using the special microchips to beat counterfeiters, the WSJ’s Eric Sylvers reports, in an escalating cat-and-mouse game between makers of authentic and fake products. That battle is growing more urgent as European Union food producers go to greater lengths to protect their hallowed brand names against knockoffs under rules granting protected status to certain goods. The rules cover more than 3,500 products valued at some $87 billion. New methods are being used to guarantee the origin of products across the continent. Some wineries are putting serial numbers, invisible ink and holograms on their bottles, while QR codes are proliferating. Drugmaker Merck KGaA will soon begin using the chips, which are also being tested in the automotive industry to guarantee the authenticity of car parts.

• A survey found that companies are slowing their investment in logistics technology after ramping up spending during the pandemic. (Journal of Commerce)

New unemployment claims in the U.S. fell by 11,000 following a spike last week in the wake of the shutdown of Yellow’s trucking business. (MarketWatch)

New home construction in the U.S. jumped 3.9% in July following a sharp drop the month before. (MarketWatch)

The European Union’s gas storage levels are on the brink of hitting their pre-winter target levels more than two months early. (WSJ)

Production of plant-based plastics is growing at a 14% annual rate but still accounts for only a small sliver of the plastics market. (WSJ)

Singapore’s non-oil exports contracted 3.4% from June to July and fell 20.2% from last year. (Straits Times)

More cargo ships trapped in Ukraine are readying voyage plans to exit the war-torn country now that a single containership has arrived in Turkey. (Splash 247)

Hyundai Motor is buying a General Motors plant in India as it seeks to expand production in the fast-growing market. (Nikkei Asia)

Online merchants have helped make reverse logistics into a booming new industry. (The New Yorker)

Flying J added a facility at a Georgia truckstop to operate as a hub for autonomous truck company Kodiak Robotics. (Commercial Carrier Journal)

Mexico-based Fultra acquired U.S. truck equipment and trailer maker East Manufacturing. (FleetOwner)

South African logistics provider Transnet plans to shift its procurement operations to digital systems. (Supply Management)

• U.S. importers are being hit with sharply rising costs to ship goods by sea from Asia to the U.S. 
• The U.S. auditing watchdog is trying to remake itself, but the going hasn’t been easy. 
• 🎧 Listen to a former crypto-exchange founder, Charlie Shrem, advocate for more compliance among crypto companies. 

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.