America’s manufacturing rebound is facing surprising headwinds from the U.S. dollar. The strengthening currency is making foreign-made goods cheaper to import, the WSJ’s Bob Tita writes, handing overseas producers an advantage in selling into the U.S. while American-made exports grow more expensive abroad. Sales in foreign currencies by U.S. manufacturers operating overseas factories also are worth less because of the unfavorable exchange rates caused by the strengthening dollar. The dollar’s surge against the euro, the Japanese yen, the British pound and other currencies adds a new wrinkle to the reshoring drive that has seen some U.S. companies look for domestic alternatives because of unreliable overseas supply chains and rising shipping costs. Still, the currency shift is helping some U.S. importers of manufacturing components. Wisconsin-based manufacturer Generac Holdings says it is finding better prices for parts that are helping “offset higher logistics costs we’re paying.”

Retailers are growing more anxious to unload all that excess inventory as the holidays draw closer. Merchants including Target and Walmart are rolling out Black Friday-type sales with the traditional start to the holiday season still six weeks away. The retailers are joining Amazon, which is staging a second Prime Day-like sale this month. The WSJ’s Jinjoo Lee writes in a Heard on the Street column that the sales signal a high-stakes holiday season as retailers fight for a shrinking pie. Stockrooms are full, with inventories at general-merchandise stores at an all-time high in July, up 30% from last year. Nike said recently that excess inventories and supply-chain delays mean that “a few seasons” worth of goods are hitting the marketplace at the same time. Perhaps retailers’ only consolation is that shipping rates are diving, which may help if the retailers want to bring in goods at all.

• Adobe Analytics expects online sales during the holiday season to grow 2.5% this year to about $210 billion after expanding 8.6% last year. (CNBC)
• Consumer goods supplier Helen of Troy says it is “highly encouraged” by Bed Bath & Beyond’s turnaround efforts. (Supply Chain Dive)

China’s efforts to build a self-sufficient semiconductor supply chain face big new hurdles. U.S. restrictions on exports of chips and chip-making equipment to China are likely to deal a setback to some of the country’s fast-emerging semiconductor companies. The WSJ’s Dan Strumpf and Liza Lin write the new rules could curb China’s attempts to catch up with the U.S. in advanced technology in what amounts to a global battle over semiconductor supremacy. China is accelerating a push for self-sufficiency in industries including semiconductors, as the U.S. has restricted more exports of American technology to the nation. China is slated to build 31 major semiconductor factories, known as fabs, by 2024. Several companies in China could end up in the crosshairs as the restrictions take hold, including state-owned Yangtze Memory Technologies. The company is China’s biggest chip maker and is responsible for about 6% of global memory output.

• China’s tech hub Shenzhen is promising fat subsidies and cash rewards to semiconductor businesses registered in the city. (South China Morning Post)

The U.S.’s third largest rail union rejected a deal with major railroads, renewing the potential of a strike. (Associated Press) 

XPO Logistics assembled its board of directors and appointed a chief financial officer as it prepares to spin off its RXO freight brokerage business. (WSJ)

Worldwide personal computer shipments in the third quarter fell 19.5% from a year ago, the steepest decline in more than two decades. (WSJ)

A Boeing 737 MAX operated by MIAT Mongolian Airlines made the jet’s first commercial flight in China since 2019. (WSJ)

Tesla and Chinese rival BYD each broke their monthly records for deliveries of electric vehicles in China in September. (WSJ)

Russia’s fuel exports to India grew fivefold in July and August and shipments to China were up 17%. (Nikkei Asia)

South Africa's Kumba Iron Ore says the Transnet strike is cutting production by some​ 50,000 metric tons a day. (Reuters)

Walmart is laying off nearly 1,500 workers at its Atlanta-area fulfillment center. (Retail Dive)

Jordan-based apparel maker Classic Fashion opened a factory in Santa Ana, Calif., to supply Walmart. (Sourcing Journal)

Rates for bulk shipping’s largest capesize vessels rose 250% over the past month. (ShippingWatch)

Futures contracts for bulk vessels nosedived 16.1% in a single day. (TradeWinds)

A consortium including Ocean Network Express says it has made “significant progress” in talks to buy out asset management firm Atlas. (Port Technology)

Chinese e-commerce logistics provider Zongteng Group is starting international air cargo service with delivery of its first Boeing 777 freighter. (Air Cargo News)

Grocery delivery app pioneer Getir is in talks to take over its heavily lossmaking quick-delivery rival Gorillas. (Financial Times)

Gorillas is adding its first warehouse in New York City. (Modern Retail)

Waymo completed autonomous-truck deliveries of Constellation Brands’ beers over several months under a test with C.H. Robinson Worldwide. (Transport Dive)

Palo Alto, Calif.-based supply-chain risk management software startup Endor Labs raised $25 million in funding. (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 Twitter at @WSJLogistics.