Retailers are making fixing returns and the drain they present to merchants’ finances a priority this year. Some store owners including Zara and H&M are charging shoppers for returning goods by mail and others like online retailer Dress the Population are offering discounts to people who agree not to return purchases. The WSJ’s Suzanne Kapner reports the effort is the result of a hangover from the pandemic, when consumers shifted to online shopping and return rates surged. The added shipping, warehousing and labor costs have eaten at company earnings as the scale of the returns has swamped efforts in the reverse-logistics sector to manage the flows. The move to reduce returns is part of a sea change in retailing as companies press profits over growth. Amazon, which set the bar for free and fast returns in e-commerce, is trying to dial back some of that behavior.

Apple is adding a bigger U.S. component to its parts supply chain. The company is extending its chip-supply agreement with Broadcom in a multiyear, multibillion-dollar deal, the WSJ’s Asa Fitch and Will Feuer report, as Apple is looking to reset a high-value supply chain that sets a foundation for a swath of electronics components suppliers. Apple was already sourcing some Broadcom components made in the U.S. The new deal will cover 5G radio-frequency components that will be built in several manufacturing hubs around the country, including Colorado. UBS analysts estimate the pact will run through 2026 and be valued at a $15 billion in revenue. Apple has long faced political pressure to locate more manufacturing in the U.S., concerns that were amplified by supply-chain disruptions. Apple has told suppliers it wants to source more parts outside of China and has ramped up operations in Vietnam and India.

• Rising wages in Mexico are complicating efforts by companies to shift supply chains from China. (Nikkei Asia)
• Japanese curbs on exports of advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China are set to take effect from July. (Financial Times)
• China’s imports of semiconductor manufacturing machinery from Singapore reached an eight-month high in April. (Straits Times)

A new regulatory mandate is helping pull back the curtains a bit on supply-chain finance practices at some companies. The requirement from the Financial Accounting Standards Board requires that U.S. companies disclose information on their supply-chain-financing programs, the WSJ’s Mark Maurer reports, including general payment terms and any assets pledged as securities or other forms of guarantees. The mandate doesn’t get deep into the details but it provides a new window on some of the nuts-and-bolts financial tools companies use to keep their goods and funds moving through their operations. Several companies with the largest supply-chain programs, including Boeing and General Electric, were already disclosing such information. But the latest disclosures give investors a better sense of the scale of the programs at a wider number of companies. That could get more significant with demand for supply-chain financing likely to increase as interest rates rise.

U.S. economic activity rose in May at the fastest pace in 13 months, with expanding service-sector growth offsetting cooling manufacturing activity. (WSJ)

Sales of new homes in the U.S. rose 4.1% in April. (MarketWatch)

Lowe's says annual sales could fall up to 4% on softening demand for home renovation projects. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Elevate Textiles reached an out-of-court restructuring deal in which its lenders will take control of the fabric supplier. (WSJ)

Prices for hay are up sharply as drought restricts Great Plains production. (WSJ)

North African countries are importing record wheat volumes as drought crushes local harvests. (Bloomberg)

Some Amazon workers at the company’s Seattle headquarters plan a walkout May 31 in protest over layoffs and a return-to-office mandate. (Washington Post)

Chinese online apparel retailer Shein launched a third-party marketplace in the U.S. (Modern Retail)

Truck-engine maker Cummins is buying two manufacturing plants owned by parts supplier Faurecia. (Commercial Carrier Journal)

Hershey's says its child labor prevention program has improved visibility on sourcing from West African regions to 77% of its cocoa by volume. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Chipotle is rolling out RFID use to trace ingredients from suppliers to its chain restaurants. (Supply Chain Dive)

Walmart opened a highly-automated fulfillment center attached to a store in Bentonville, Ark. (TB&P)

Shipowner Eastern Pacific plans to add large numbers of new vessels in the coming years and hire 3,000 more workers by 2025. (ShippingWatch)

German shipping magnate Bertram Rickmers died following a fall at his home. He was 71. (TradeWinds)

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.