China’s Belt and Road infrastructure program is undergoing a change of direction. The initiative has laid out some $1 trillion for bridges, railroads and ports to expand China’s influence across Asia, Africa and Latin America. The WSJ’s Lingling Wei reports Beijing now is working on an overhaul of a troubled program that has left countries struggling to repay their debts to China. Tens of billions of dollars of loans have gone sour, and numerous development projects have stalled under a slowing global economy, rising interest rates and inflation. Many of the projects have been aimed at expanding shipping capabilities but have been out of step with markets. In Sri Lanka, a port project backed by Chinese money failed to generate enough traffic to service the debt. Chinese policy makers are discussing a more conservative lending program, dubbed Belt and Road 2.0, that would more rigorously evaluate new projects.

The holiday shopping season is taking on some urgency for retailers. Merchants are facing a challenge balancing the need to keep raising prices to offset high inflation with the pressure to offer discount goods to clear out excess stock. The WSJ’s Kristin Broughton reports major retailers including Macy’s, Walmart and Target have been marking down goods to pare back stockpiles after miscalculating customer demand earlier in the year. The days of inventory outstanding at general and specialty retailers increased to an average of 63.7 days in the second quarter from 57.4 days a year earlier, according to Hackett Group. Across all industries, that figure was about flat at an average of 46.5 days. The discounting carries a price. Macy’s inventory rose 7% during the quarter ended July 30 compared with a year earlier, while the company’s operating margin fell to 7.1% from 10.6% a year earlier.

• Amazon is adding another Prime Day-like sales event next month. (WSJ)
• Macy’s plans to add about 41,000 seasonal jobs at its stores and warehouses this year, far below last year’s hiring. (Reuters)

Competition among top container lines is turning into an air battle. Mediterranean Shipping Co., the world’s largest shipping line by capacity, is bringing in four Boeing 777-200 freighters to anchor its new MSC Air Cargo operation. That puts MSC in line with moves by Maersk Line and CMA CGM to launch air cargo operations in hopes of getting bigger shares of shippers’ transportation spending. The Loadstar reports the new MSC business is starting with four wide-body aircraft that will be operated by Atlas Air starting in the fourth quarter under what the two companies called a long-term agreement. The shipping lines face challenges in the skies, with airfreight volumes sliding since early summer. Research group WorldACD reports that pricing continued a lengthy downturn in the first two weeks of September as global demand was off 11% year-over-year while capacity was up 6%. 

A labor dispute between dockworkers and employers is slowing cargo operations at the Port of Oakland’s busiest container terminal. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Ian strengthened into a hurricane as it closed in on Cuba and threatened Florida’s western coast. (WSJ)

Electric-car startup Faraday Future has secured up to $100 million in new financing to fund operations. (WSJ)

Alan Jope plans to retire as CEO of consumer-goods supplier Unilever at the end of next year. (WSJ)

Singapore’s factory output rose in August at the weakest pace in 11 months. (Straits Times)

Intel and Italy tabbed the northeastern Italy region of Veneto for a new semiconductor plant. (Reuters)

Japan’s Mazda is considering joining Toyota in ending automotive manufacturing in Russia. (Nikkei Asia)

The Korea Development Bank named South Korea's Hanwha Group the preferred bidder to acquire Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. (Korea Times)

Georgia’s Port of Savannah is toughening its penalties for storage of empty containers. (Journal of Commerce)

More bulk-ship operators are starting to sell their vessels. (TradeWinds)

Cargill Ocean Transportation CEO Jan Dieleman =doesn’t expect sagging bulk shipping rates to recover to last year’s high levels anytime soon. (ShippingWatch)

The logistics arm of Koch Industries says rail service has improved since railroads resumed hump operations at several yards. (Trains)

The average age of trucking fleets has increased about 10% over the past year. (Commercial Carrier Journal)

DHL Supply Chain acquired Dutch e-commerce company Monta. (Air Cargo News)

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.