Amazon is facing a new challenge to the enormous sway it carries over the U.S. e-commerce market. The Federal Trade Commission and 17 states are suing the company, alleging the online retailer illegally wields monopoly power, including through its logistics services, that keeps prices artificially high, locks sellers into its platform and harms its rivals. The WSJ’s Dave Michaels and Dana Mattioli report the legal case, spearheaded by agency chair and longtime Amazon critic Lina Khan, marks a milestone in the Biden administration’s aggressive enforcement of antitrust laws. The FTC and states say Amazon used measures that punished merchants for offering lower prices elsewhere. The government also says Amazon compelled sellers to use its logistics service to display goods on Amazon Prime, which garners faster shipping. Khan said that between payments for logistics, advertising and other services, “Amazon now takes one of every $2 that a seller makes.”

• Merchants on TikTok are having a hard time pitching their products to American consumers on a social media app known for catchy dances and lip synced videos. (WSJ)
• Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is spinning off its Cainiao logistics arm in an initial public offering in Hong Kong. (Associated Press)
• Online fast-fashion player Shein plans to stock its U.S. warehouses with more of its low-priced China-made goods to cut delivery times. (Reuters)

Since Lina Khan became Federal Trade Commission chair in 2021, she’s taken on Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft, and that’s made her a lightning rod for controversy. In a WSJ video report, we look at the battles she’s picked and why she’s willing to lose.

An ambitious Pentagon program to bring in large numbers of drones is flying straight into a supply-chain wall. The Defense Department wants to acquire thousands of drones over the next two years, part of a plan to add weapons faster, cheaper and in greater quantities than ever. The WSJ’s Doug Cameron reports the Pentagon’s goal must contend with booming commercial aerospace demand that has left a shortage of skilled labor, raw materials and parts. The Pentagon wants to buy thousands of cheap drones in as little as 18 months, and add as many as 2,000 larger autonomous aircraft. By contrast, one large drone suppliers, Shield AI, produced 38 of the aircraft last year. Existing defense programs are already being hit by supply-chain snarls. To get over the hurdles, the Pentagon is looking beyond major defense contractors to smaller firms, many of them backed by venture capital.

A survey of U.S. consumer confidence fell to a four-month low in September. (MarketWatch)

American companies in a survey say China has become a much more difficult place to earn profits. (WSJ)

Ford is pausing construction of a $3.5 billion battery plant in Michigan, where it had planned to produce lower-costs cells using technology from a Chinese battery maker. (WSJ)

Russia is coping with fuel shortages that led the country to bar diesel and gasoline exports this month. (WSJ)

Target is closing nine stores in four U.S. cities over theft and violence. (WSJ)

Belgian officials are investigating 3M over alleged release of so-called forever chemicals in water emissions. (WSJ)

Mitsubishi Motors is ending its automotive production in China. (Nikkei Asia)

Commodity giant Glencore obscured the origin of thousands of tons of Russian copper by shipping the cargoes through third countries. (Financial Times)

United Parcel Service plans to hire more than 100,000 seasonal workers this year, around the same number as in 2022. (CNBC)

Federal trucking regulators plan to issue rules in December on speed-limiting devices for trucks. (Trucking Dive)

Average U.S. diesel prices fell for the first time since mid-July. (Logistics Management) 

DA Davidson says weak freight demand and lower carrier profitability will likely lead to dampened demand​ for heavy-duty trucks next year. (Dow Jones Newswires)

The International Energy Agency says the shipping industry will turn to ammonia as a major fuel source to meet emissions reduction targets. (TradeWinds)

Linerlytica says container shipping capacity is growing at the fastest pace on record. (Splash 247)

A.P. Moller-Maersk is selling its small U.S.-flagged tanker fleet and the American military contracts the business holds. (ShippingWatch)

Logistics companies are boosting investments in South America as diversification of supply chains drives more sourcing from the continent. (Journal of Commerce)

British logistics operator KNP Logistics and its 158-year-old trucking business entered the U.K. version of bankruptcy. (BBC)

A key rail freight corridor between France and Italy remains closed several weeks after a landslide. (The Loadstar)

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.