Houthi militants are ramping up attacks along Yemen's Red Sea coast, shutting operations at a strategic seaport and pushing closer to the Bab al-Mandeb, a critical shipping chokepoint, The Wall Street Journal's Jared Malsin and Saleh al-Batati write.
The militant group's recent missile and drone attacks forced the closure of the port of Mokha, a key logistics hub for civilian shipping and for anti-Houthi forces operating along the coast, Yemeni authorities said.
Shutting down the port makes it harder for the anti-Houthi forces to resupply and resist Houthi attacks. Last month, the Houthis declared a blockade of Saudi Arabia's nearby ports and began attacking ships in the Bab al-Mandeb, further stressing global supply chains while Iranian threats cut into Persian Gulf oil and gas exports.
Shipping industry analysts said traffic through the Bab al-Mandeb continues, however. From Aug. 10 to 16, there were 254 confirmed transits through Bab al-Mandeb, up slightly from the previous week, according to Kpler.
President Trump threatened to bomb Oman if the country gets in the way of U.S. efforts to reach a peace deal with Iran. (WSJ)
Iranian media said an oil tanker had been seized in the Strait of Hormuz, sending oil futures higher. (WSJ)
Abu Dhabi sovereign-wealth fund L'imad Holding offered to buy out minority shareholders in AD Ports, valuing the company at about $8.66 billion. (Bloomberg)
High winds and waves are stymying efforts to remove oil from a shadow-fleet tanker stranded off Oman. (TradeWinds)
Drone Delivery
Uber is teaming up with drone startup Zipline to take its delivery service to the skies, aiming to win customers demanding ever-quicker turnaround times for takeout, grocery and retail orders, the Journal's Kelly Cloonan writes.
Under the partnership, Uber Eats will start deliveries with Zipline's drone network in Dallas and Houston by the end of the year. The companies plan to expand the offering across the U.S., targeting one million Uber Eats deliveries via drone a day by the end of 2029. Uber is also investing an undisclosed amount in Zipline, the companies said.
Construction
Home-improvement spending was finally supposed to recover from its hangover this year, the WSJ's Spencer Jakab writes. But the expected revival is running into problems that will keep same-store sales growth for home-improvement retailers around zero this year for the group.
The housing market itself is one problem, as sales of existing homes, a key driver of improvement spending, stagnate. The AI boom is soaking up a disproportionate share of investment and with bond-market jitters worldwide, longer-term interest rates and residential construction are headed in the wrong direction for now.
Confidence among U.S. home builders barely picked up in August as high mortgage rates, rising construction costs and economic uncertainty hang over the housing market. (WSJ)
Year-over-year increase in the expenditures component of the Cass Freight Index for July, to 3.52, slowing from an 11.2% gain in June, mainly because of lower volumes.
In Other News
Canadian inflation accelerated a touch faster than expected last month, with the consumer-price index rising 0.5%, bringing the annual rate to 3%. (WSJ)
Japan's real GDP grew 0.3% in the April-June period, a third consecutive quarter of growth but at a slower pace. (WSJ)
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's statewide manufacturing index of business conditions rose to 20.6 in August, its highest level in four years. (WSJ)
Stellantis is recalling nearly a million vehicles, mostly Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep models in the U.S., because of potentially faulty rear-view cameras. (WSJ)
OpenAI signed a 10-gigawatt data-center lease in Ohio with SoftBank's SB Energy for a project expected to become one of the largest AI hubs to date. (WSJ)
Pioneering auto executive Li Shufu is stepping down as chairman of Geely Automobile and will be replaced by luxury-unit leader An Conghui. (WSJ)
L3Harris Technologies, the company that overhauled a Qatari plane now used as Air Force One, replaced its CEO after a probe found he violated the defense contractor's code of conduct. (WSJ)
Madison Air Solutions inked a deal to buy Germany's Ebm-Papst, a supplier of high-performance airflow technologies for $5.4 billion, including debt. (WSJ)
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved construction of a new terminal at the Port of New Orleans, which will allow Mediterranean Shipping Co. to bring in ultralarge containerships. (Journal of Commerce)
Amazon filed plans for a second proposed new fulfillment center in Connecticut. (SupplyChain24/7)
Union Pacific collected $91.1 million more in surcharges than it paid for fuel in the second quarter, outpacing rivals, according to a filing with the Surface Transportation Board. (Reuters)
Port congestion has idled the equivalent of 1.7 million 20-foot containers, bolstering spot rates. (Lloyd's List)
About 112 ships were waiting to enter the Panama Canal, with containerships being warned they could be delayed further as transits by oil tankers increase. (The Loadstar)
BNSF Railway and NFI Industries announced a partnership to integrate access to transportation, warehousing, distribution and transloading at a planned intermodal gateway project in Barstow, Calif. (TrainsPRO)
Supply-chain thefts in the U.S. and Canada fell 26% in the second quarter from a year earlier, but losses more than doubled to over $300 million, according to Verisk CargoNet. (Transport Topics)
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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