There’s not much holiday cheer in the hiring plans at logistics companies this year. Most warehousing and delivery specialists are keeping their seasonal staffing flat this year compared to last year, the WSJ Logistics Report’s Liz Young writes, as they move cautiously in an uncertain retail economy while looking for stronger signals on the direction of consumer demand. United Parcel Service plans for more than 100,000 seasonal hires, which is about the same number as last year, and other logistics specialists are keeping a lid on employment growth. That follows high pandemic-era demand that led to big pay increases and bonuses for workers. Amazon is breaking from the pack with plans to add 250,000 seasonal workers while it rolls out new services and looks to take a bigger share of holiday business. The warehousing sector overall has shed some 61,000 jobs since reaching a high point last summer.

• On-demand warehousing and fulfillment startup Flexe laid off about a third of its staff “to stay ahead of the changing economic environment.” (Business Journals)

The strike against Detroit automakers is set to expand as a battle over automotive supply chains deepens. The United Auto Workers union is pledging to widen its walkout on Friday barring significant progress in contract negotiations. The WSJ’s Ryan Felton and Mike Colias report that General Motors, Ford and Chrysler-parent Stellantis at the same time are taking steps to keep critical parts flowing to their dealerships after the union extended the strike to distribution centers. GM and Stellantis have plans for white-collar workers to staff the parts hubs so they can continue shipping components to dealerships. Ahead of the strike, Stellantis also leased a nonunion warehouse and banked 30 days of inventory. The consumer impact of the strike so far has been minimal. But choking off the flow of routine maintenance parts such as spark plugs and oil filters can quickly disrupt dealers’ service departments, triggering frustration among customers.

• A network of about 5,600 smaller auto-parts suppliers could be hit hard by a prolonged strike against the Detroit carmakers. (CNBC)

Flexport’s chief financial officer and human-resources chief are leaving the company, extending a management shakeup at the digital freight forwarder. (WSJ)

U.S. crude oil futures reached their highest level of the year as inventories fell. (WSJ)

Orders for durable goods in the U.S. rose 0.2% from July to August and were up 0.9% excluding volatile military and transport orders. (MarketWatch)

Mexico’s exports of manufactured goods jumped 4.3% in August, including an 11% gain in automotive shipments. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Thrasio, a startup that raised at least $3.4 billion to buy up consumer brands sold on Amazon, is exploring restructuring options. (WSJ)

Costco’s quarterly same-store sales rose 3.8% from a year ago. (WSJ)

A U.N. report says Chinese and Japanese shipping companies are the worst carbon-dioxide emitters in the high-polluting sector. (Nikkei Asia)

Insurance broker Miller launched a marine insurance facility for Ukrainian grain exports, backed by the government in Kyiv. (Splash 247)

Linerlytica projects container shipping rates will soon fall to 2016 levels unless carriers start pulling significant capacity from markets. (Seatrade Maritime)

Jefferies lowered its outlook for container shipping charter rates as operators face oversupply and weak demand. (TradeWinds)

CMA CGM added eight vessels to an order in China for mid-sized dual-fuel methanol containerships. (Lloyd’s List)

Canada’s WestJet Cargo started freighter service between Toronto and Havana. (Air Cargo News)

FedEx Ground is testing two-armed​ trailer-loading robots. (Trucking Dive)

The WSJ Pro Sustainable Business Forum on Oct. 12 will include a discussion about risk and resilience in corporate sustainability programs with Maryam Golnaraghi, director of climate change and environment at The Geneva Association, and Torolf Hamm, head of physical catastrophe and climate risk management at Willis Towers Watson.

Other sessions will cover reporting to U.S. and European standards, the role of artificial intelligence and what corporate decarbonization measures are proving effective. Register here.

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.