Steel producers aren’t waiting for regulator go-aheads in their efforts to consolidate the industrial sector. Major auto industry supplier Cleveland-Cliffs reached a deal to buy Canadian steel producer Stelco Holdings for about $2.5 billion as it pivots from a yearlong pursuit of rival U.S. Steel. The WSJ’s Bob Tita and Robb M. Stewart report that Stelco would diversify Cliffs’ business by adding steel mills in Canada and customers who typically buy steel on the open market. The acquisition comes as Nippon Steel’s $14 billion agreement to buy U.S. Steel sits in regulatory limbo. Cleveland-Cliffs remains interested in reviving its buyout offer, but only at a lower price. The slumping steel market adds urgency to moves by the sector’s big producers. Steel prices in the U.S. are sliding as manufacturers hold off on large purchases. The U.S. spot-market price for flat-rolled steel has dropped more than 40% since the start of the year.

Global rare-earths markets are defying some of the basic principles of supply and demand, largely because of geopolitics. Prices for the minerals considered crucial to the electronics sector have plummeted this year and are now hovering at roughly three-year lows. The WSJ’s Enes Morina writes in a Heard on the Street column that the market is being weighed down by a glut of Chinese supply, and that Beijing has ramped up production by using mining quotas. That leaves the industry to digest the excess in an era when demand hasn’t lived up to expectations. The big driver is the global competition to control commodities supply chains that underpin industrial production. The U.S. and Europe would love to cut their dependence on China for rare earths. But the low prices are squeezing margins for Western producers, undercutting efforts to develop alternative sources of supply.

China’s economic growth slowed to 4.7% in the second quarter on sagging retail sales and real-estate investment. (WSJ)

A measure of manufacturing activity in New York remained in contraction in July for the eighth straight month. (MarketWatch)

Canadian business owners in a survey showed a dour sales outlook and say they plan to sharply scale back pay increases. (WSJ)

Macy’s terminated buyout discussions with Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management. (WSJ)

IDC says global smartphone shipments grew 6.5% in the second quarter, including gains for Apple and Samsung Electronics. (WSJ)

Watchmaker Swatch’s first-half sales fell 11% on a constant currency basis. (WSJ)

Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering struck a deal for up to a dozen large containerships reported to be for CMA CGM. (The Loadstar)

India’s Adani Ports plans to build a container and multipurpose cargo port​ in Danang, Vietnam. (Maritime Executive)

General Motors shareholders overwhelmingly rejected proposals concerning ethical supply chains at the automaker. (Supply Chain Dive)

Cummins won a $75 million federal grant to adapt part of its Indiana engine plant for production of zero-emissions and electric-vehicle components. (Commercial Carrier Journal)

U.K. research group Parcelhero says British businesses started stockpiling goods ahead of the country’s recent elections. (Logistics Manager)

Airbus revised upward its 20-year forecast for aircraft demand on a growing push for wide-body jets. (Reuters)

China’s Central Airlines will operate two Boeing 777 freighters in the country for DHL Express. (Air Cargo News)

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.