A group of the 18 biggest shipping countries warned that global conflicts, trade restrictions and chokepoints were raising costs and spreading uncertainty across global supply chains, The Wall Street Journal's Costas Paris writes.
The Consultative Shipping Group, an informal alliance made up of shipping powers including Germany, Denmark, Japan, South Korea and the U.K., said attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea weren't one-off shocks, but a signal of structural change in global trade.
The group, which doesn't normally issue statements, said the changes are eroding freedom of navigation. Two parallel trade systems were emerging, it added, with one playing by the rules and another operating by evading sanctions, attacking vessels and forcing ships to reroute from key waterways such as the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Red Sea.
The U.S. launched new attacks on Iranian oil tankers in response to a fresh attempt by Tehran to strike U.S. warships in the Middle East. (WSJ)
Global Trade
President Trump signed orders to ban the importation from Canada of many dairy products, alcoholic beverages and motorcycles in three weeks-a retaliation for Canadian tariffs that took effect earlier Tuesday.
The Journal's Gavin Bade writes that Trump also modified the scope of some existing 50% tariffs on Canada. He removed levies on cement, road salt and some hospital products, while imposing 50% levies on other products including some all-terrain vehicles, boats and cheeses. The tariff changes will take effect Sept. 15, while the trade prohibitions are set to kick in on Sept. 29.
Also Tuesday, Trump posted on Truth Social that he would direct the General Services Administration and U.S. Trade Representative's office to remove Canadian firms from the agency's so-called Multiple Award Schedules, which connect federal, state and local government agencies with suppliers of a wide variety of products.
Number of the Day
FTR's Trucking Conditions Index for July, down slightly from May and June-the two most favorable months ever recorded for carriers-as upward pressure on freight rates eased.
Air Cargo
Two systems that could have slowed an Amazon Air flight that crashed in Miami over the weekend weren't deployed before the plane careered off a runway and crashed into nearby vehicles, investigators said late Tuesday.
The National Transportation Safety Board didn't find evidence on one of the plane's black boxes that the Boeing 767's speed brakes were deployed, lead investigator Chihoon Shin said at a news briefing. The speed brakes are panels that create aerodynamic drag, or thrust reversers, which redirect air to lower the plane's speed while landing, the WSJ's Andrew Tangel and Alyssa Lukpat write.
The aircraft's wheel brakes were applied 23 seconds before the end of the black box's recording, but then those brakes were released a few seconds later and the throttles increased to levels consistent with go-around thrust, Shin said. Go-arounds are routine maneuvers pilots perform to redo landing attempts.
After that, Shin said, the throttles were reduced to idle power and the brakes were reapplied until the end of the data recording. NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy declined to speculate about why the systems weren't deployed.
In Other News
A reading of the U.S. labor market from The Conference Board moved up in August, with signs that underemployment is easing and perceptions of job availability are improving. (WSJ)
The National Federation of Independent Business said its small-business optimism index ticked down 1.1 points to 98.7 in August, though it remains above the 52-year average. (WSJ)
Brent crude topped $100 a barrel for the first time since July amid escalating conflict in the Middle East and fears of supply disruptions. (WSJ)
European natural-gas prices rose to their highest level since early 2023 as Middle East attacks disrupted liquefied natural gas shipments. (WSJ)
Copper prices climbed to fresh records on U.S. and U.K. exchanges as distortions to trade flows collided with supply challenges at key mines worldwide. (WSJ)
China's producer-price index climbed 3.8% in August from a year earlier, accelerating from July's 3.5% increase. (WSJ)
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sharply criticized Ford Motor's business with Chinese auto companies. (WSJ)
GE Aerospace said it will buy Consolidated Precision Products, a maker of blades and vanes for jet engines and power-generating turbines, for $11.75 billion. (WSJ)
A group of former Amazon warehouse employees is suing the company, alleging they were illegally punished and eventually terminated for seeking accommodations related to their pregnancies. (WSJ)
Verizon and Corning reached a multibillion-dollar agreement to deploy more than 80 million miles of high-density optical fiber across the U.S. over the coming five years. (WSJ)
NextEra Energy said it reached a deal with the Department of Energy, closing on a loan of up to $1.9 billion to support the restart of a nuclear power plant in Iowa. (WSJ)
Fortum signed a 22-year power purchase agreement with Google to power data centers in Finland. (WSJ)
Food manufacturers and grocers alleged in a lawsuit filed in Chicago federal court that U.S. sugar producers colluded to inflate prices. (Bloomberg)
Pitney Bowes is adding high-speed sorting equipment across its network and hiring 400 workers as two rivals shut down. (DC Velocity)
U.S. House lawmakers introduced a bill to crack down on "chameleon carriers"-trucking companies that shut down and change names to evade safety and regulatory violations. (Transport Topics)
PepsiCo is planning to open a warehouse north of Santa Rosa, Calif., for regional distribution of Frito-Lay snacks. (The Mercury News)
About Us
Mark R. Long is editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Reach him at mark.long@wsj.com. Follow the WSJ Logistics Report team on LinkedIn: Mark R. Long, Liz Young and Paul Berger.
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