The U.S. and its allies are trying to build new trade infrastructure to match shifting geopolitics. Washington and partners in Europe, the Middle East and Asia are completing plans to build a trade corridor linking the regions, the WSJ’s Stephen Kalin and Laurence Norman report, a massive initiative that could undercut China’s inroads in a key global trade route. The project aims to connect Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and potentially Israel by freight rail, then use sea transport to reach India and Europe. The U.S. and its European partners have stepped up plans to finance global infrastructure projects in a bid to counter China’s influence through its Belt and Road Initiative. Beijing’s overseas ambitions for that $1 trillion rail, road and ports plan have been fading more recently. The new U.S. effort would have all signatories commit financing, but details won’t be hashed out for several months.

Natural gas supplies are about to get tighter. Workers at two large Chevron plants in Australia began an industrial action planned to include work stoppages leading up to a two-week walkout starting this Thursday. The WSJ’s Rhiannon Hoyle writes the actions in a country that rivals Qatar as the world’s top exporter of liquefied natural gas intensify a dispute that has already rattled global markets. Chevron facilities are among Australia’s largest, accounting for about 7% of global LNG supply, according to commodities research group Wood Mackenzie. Analysts say disruptions to production from the sites could result in more competition for spot LNG cargoes, with some shipments typically destined for Europe—including from the U.S.—likely to be diverted to Asia. Natural-gas prices in Europe were up nearly 10% on Friday. Still, analysts say large stockpiles of gas in Europe should prevent prices from going haywire.

• Federal regulators dealt a blow to plans to build New Jersey’s first LNG export terminal on the Delaware River. (NJ Spotlight News)

Wholesale inventories in the U.S. fell 0.2% in July, the second straight monthly decline. (MarketWatch)

The Global Port Tracker projects U.S. container imports will fall 12.5% overall this year after modest growth during the peak shipping season. (Dow Jones Newswires)

The White House and Saudi Arabia are in talks to secure metals in Africa needed for both countries’ energy transitions. (WSJ)

Aviation authorities say inadequate inspections by Pratt & Whitney were partly responsible for a midflight jet engine breakdown in 2021. (WSJ)

Instacart is targeting a valuation in its imminent initial public offering that is a fraction of what the grocery-delivery company was previously worth. (WSJ)

Kroger and Albertsons plan to sell 413 stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers in a move to help win regulatory approval for their planned merger. (WSJ)

Legal disputes in the shipping industry are surging, as declining profits and disruption caused by the Ukraine war lead to clashes between shipowners and customers. (Financial Times)

The U.S. and European Union are considering new tariffs aimed at excess steel production from China and other countries. (Bloomberg)

Japanese retailers are concerned that enormous growth in cross-border e-commerce imports is undercutting their business. (Nikkei Asia)

United Parcel Service is matching FedEx with an average 5.9% increase in listed prices next year. (Supply Chain Dive)

A Lloyd’s Register report says some of the world's largest ports may be unusable by 2050 as rising sea levels hit operations. (Reuters)

Tsakos Energy says it fixed a three-year contract for a very large crude carrier at the highest rate in 15 years. (TradeWinds)

Singapore-based Winning International ordered two very large ore carriers as a step toward building a fleet of “super-large” bulk vessels. (ShippingWatch)

Container throughput at Chinese ports rose 4.5% in the first seven months of the year. (Port Technology)

A shortage of car-carrying vessels is constraining the expansion of Chinese automakers in Europe. (ShippingWatch)

Softbank Group is backing autonomous trucking startup Stack AV, launched by the founders of defunct self-driving vehicle business Argo AI. (TechCrunch)

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.