Convoy had smart technology, a star-studded lineup of investors and a shiny valuation befitting its big ambitions. But the backing that investors sent the business in early 2022 also helped accelerate the undoing of one of the brightest of a long lineup of digital startups. The WSJ Logistics Report’s Paul Berger writes that last year’s funding round included $100 million in venture loans that hit Convoy’s balance sheet just as U.S. domestic shipping was turning sharply downward. By this year, Convoy was losing $10 million a month and the eight-year-old startup spent several months aggressively seeking new investors or outright buyers. Talks with one company were so far along that executives began mapping out an integration strategy. But the deals fell through. With its cash dwindling, Convoy became the latest sign that venture-capital fervor for supply-chain tech startups is subsiding as strains in freight markets are growing.

• Tech-focused freight forwarder Flexport is in talks to buy the technology of Convoy. (WSJ)

The United Auto Workers walkout is narrowing down to a single carmaker. The union is calling for a fresh strike at a General Motors factory in Tennessee, the WSJ’s Nora Eckert and Ryan Felton report, after the UAW confirmed it had reached a tentative agreement with Chrysler parent Stellantis on a new labor contract a few days after striking a contract deal with Ford. The new walkout at GM’s factory in Spring Hill, Tenn., came after negotiators had been working nearly around the clock to finalize a new contract. It marks the latest in a series of unexpected moves by the union aimed at keeping the companies off balance. The terms of the deal at Stellantis largely mirror Ford’s agreement, including on the 25% wage increase, according to the UAW. Any deal struck at Stellantis would still have to be approved by the membership.

• The St. Lawrence Seaway is expected to reopen today after a tentative deal was reached to end a week-long strike by Canadian workers. (WSJ)
• Mack Trucks says UAW contract demands are unrealistic and that no new talks with striking factory workers are scheduled. (Reuters)
• The GM Cruise self-driving car unit is suspending all of its driverless operations across the U.S. (WSJ)

Commodity markets are getting the holiday season off to a scary start. Rising cocoa prices are raising candy costs to frightening levels ahead of Halloween, leading some consumers to rethink their candy quotas for the first big retail sales period of the crucial fourth quarter. The WSJ’s Joseph De Avila and Joseph Pisani report that the National Retail Federation projects North Americans will spend a record $12.2 billion on Halloween this year, up 15% over last year. Consumers are expected to shell out $3.6 billion on candy alone, a 16% increase from 2022. Prices for candy and gum jumped 7.5% in September compared with the same month last year and prices for cocoa are at a multidecade high. That means a significant share of the sales growth this year is as a result of inflation rather than higher volumes, which is hardly a treat for carriers.

A U.S. patent ruling against Apple could lead to an import ban for certain models of the company’s smartwatch. (WSJ)

Tata Group will manufacture Apple iPhones in India under an agreement with Wistron. (The Tribune)

Exports of U.S. soybean meal to other countries are expected to climb to a record high next year on demand for vegetable oil to make green diesel. (Bloomberg)

A strike by Northern Ireland port inspectors this week threatens to disrupt agriculture and food imports. (Financial Times)

Intermodal volume at Hub Group fell 16% in the third quarter from last year. (Journal of Commerce)

Less-than-truckload carrier Saia plans to raise rates an average of 7.5% in December. (Logistics Management)

Matson Navigation expects weak container demand to persist through 2024. (ShippingWatch)

Danish dry-bulk ship operator Clipper plans to more than double its fleet to about 200 vessels in the coming years. (Splash 247)

Spot rates for bulk shipping’s biggest capesize vessels plummeted 37% in a single day. (TradeWinds)

An Iranian manufacturer struck a deal to export railcars to a buyer in Poland. (Railway Gazette)

Zara parent Inditex struck a three-year agreement to buy recycled polyester from Los Angeles-based Ambercycle. (Supply Chain Dive)

Luxury fashion brand Hugo Boss is spending $105 million to expand its central European distribution operations in Filderstadt-Bonlanden, Germany. (Just-Style)

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.