Volatility in the raw materials supply chain behind new-technology electronics is only deepening. Prices for lithium, the mineral key to lithium-ion batteries, are plumbing multiyear lows in a market awash with the battery material, and it’s unlikely they have hit rock bottom yet. The WSJ’s Rhiannon Hoyle reports the market is being hit by slowing consumer demand for battery-electric cars, helping push global production of minerals for the clean-energy transition out of lockstep with the broader market. Instead of cutting back on lithium output to balance easing demand growth, miners have sought to ride out the pullback by slashing costs and putting off new projects. One pricing measure has plummeted from $43,000 a metric ton a year ago to $12,500 a ton last week. It’s one sign of the challenge companies face in keeping up with the rapid change in supply chains supporting electric vehicles.

• The European Union confirmed plans to impose additional tariffs on electric cars made in China. (WSJ)
• China ramped up its anti-dumping investigation into European brandy imports, an apparent retaliation for Europe’s EV tariffs. (The Guardian)
• South Korean EV battery maker SK On, a supplier to Ford and Volkswagen, declared itself in financial crisis and may have to be rescued. (Financial Times)

China is taking tentative new steps to help disrupt the global supply chain fueling the opioid crisis in the U.S. Since President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met at a summit in California last November, Chinese authorities have quietly shut down some sellers of precursor chemicals used by Mexican cartels to make fentanyl. The WSJ’s Brian Spegele reports that’s a big change from the past, and Chinese officials say they are close to imposing new regulations sought by the U.S. The moves are aimed at a vast network that’s grown up in the gray areas of industrial production and shipping. U.S. officials say private companies in China are some of the main producers of the building blocks for fentanyl, and sell precursor chemicals openly over the internet. These new measures won’t solve the fentanyl crisis, and U.S. officials are pressing China to do much more.

• Japan will provide financial backing to build a domestic antibiotics supply chain to reduce the country’s exposure to products from China. (Nikkei Asia)

Boeing agreed to plead guilty to felony charges that it misled air-safety regulators in the run-up to two deadly 737 MAX crashes. (WSJ)

The U.S. unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1% and average hourly earnings grew at the slimmest pace since 2021. (WSJ)

Warehousing payrolls contracted by 2,300 jobs in June, leaving the sector down 170,000 jobs since the May 2022 peak. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Canada's unemployment rates rose last month to a more than two-year high. (WSJ)

German manufacturing orders fell for a fifth straight month in May. (WSJ)

Shares of Chinese shipping companies fell sharply on expectations of falling freight rates after Hamas signaled approval for a cease-fire in Gaza. (WSJ)

Samsung Electronics forecast a surge in second-quarter earnings on a strong rebound in its semiconductor business. (WSJ)

Canada approved a Glencore-led $9 billion deal to acquire steelmaking coal assets from Teck Resources. (WSJ)

Ports of Indiana plans to develop the first international sea cargo container terminal on Lake Michigan. (Maritime Executive)

Trucking regulators are taking a hard look at oversight of the sector’s lease-purchase programs. (Commercial Carrier Journal)

XPO created a driver training academy in the U.K. specifically for female candidates. (Motor Transport)

Eastern Pacific Shipping ordered eight new large containerships with liquefied natural gas dual fuel capability. (Splash 247)

United Parcel Service is temporarily closing a Baltimore warehouse next month and laying off about 540 workers to renovate the site. (Baltimore Banner)

New Jersey lawmakers are advancing legislation that would bar retailers from shipping goods in packages more than twice the size of the product. (Logistics Manager)

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.