The peak shipping season is arriving early and with high risk for U.S. importers. Trade figures show inbound shipping volumes have been surging into American ports since late spring, as retailers try to get ahead of delays and disruptions swirling around ocean transport operations. The WSJ Logistics Report’s Paul Berger writes that the companies are moving quickly to pull forward overseas orders, putting into play lessons learned during the turmoil that hit supply chains during the pandemic. It also marks a big bet for importers who risk being stuck with excess inventories if consumers don’t pick up their spending, potentially repeating the overstocking that troubled retailers two years ago. The pull-forward is being driven largely by the turmoil in the Red Sea, where attacks by Houthi rebels on commercial shipping have forced ocean carriers to divert vessels, effectively eating up capacity and driving up rates—and shippers’ risks.

• Yemeni authorities were still struggling on Monday to contain a massive blaze at the Hodeida port from an Israeli air strike. (CBS)
• Shipping’s carbon emissions climbed 6% in the first half of this year, as vessels took longer routes to avoid attacks in the Red Sea. (Bloomberg)

Just as automakers are getting their electric-vehicle supply chains in gear, the demand side of the business is faltering. Dealers coping with growing inventory on their lots are slashing prices of the vehicles, the WSJ’s Ben Glickman reports, offering steeper discounts that will serve as a test of Americans’ appetite for going electric after months of slowing demand. Dealerships on average held 125 days’ worth of supply for EVs at the start of June, according to Cox Automotive, well above the industry norm of around 60 days. Sales of fully electric models rose 6.8% through the first half of the year, according to Motor Intelligence data, down sharply from near 50% growth in 2023. After years of struggling with production, manufacturers now are starting to produce the vehicles in volume. Now, says a U.S. executive at Korean automaker Kia, “We’re waiting for the customers to catch up.”

Export inspections of U.S. wheat dropped off by nearly two-thirds over the past week. (Dow Jones Newswires)

United Parcel Service is buying Mexican express delivery company Estafeta. (WSJ)

Elon Musk said Tesla will have humanoid robots in production to be used within the company next year. (WSJ)

QXO, the construction-materials business launched by Brad Jacobs, raised $620 million in a private placement and added Jared Kushner. (WSJ)

Boeing received a flurry of orders from Korean Air and Japan Airlines, in a show of confidence in the embattled plane maker. (WSJ)

GE Aerospace sold engines to power a combined 26 wide-body 787 jets for British Airways and Japan Airlines. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Annual sales of tampons and pads have tumbled as inflation has left women​ with tough choices. (WSJ)

Mysterious buyers with suspected links to Russia are amassing dozens of liquefied natural gas carriers, a new step in Moscow’s “dark fleet” of energy tankers. (Financial Times)

European regional shipping operator DFDS cut its operating outlook on declining freight demand in the second quarter. (ShippingWatch)

Danish shipowner and operator Norden is buying Norwegian dry bulk operator Norlat Shipping. (Splash 247)

Grocery chain Kroger plans to roll out new automation technologies from Ocado at its U.S. warehouses. (Reuters)

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.