Toyota is grappling with the consequences of a decision to delay work on the factories that make its bestselling sport-utility vehicle.
The Wall Street Journal's Christopher Otts and Owen Tucker-Smith report that North American production of the (Toyota) RAV4 plunged 30% through September, and RAV4's U.S. sales are down 29% this year.
The RAV4 is America's bestselling vehicle that isn't a pickup truck and the country's most popular SUV. But its status is in danger. Toyota's U.S. dealers have about four days' worth of the crossover on their lots. RAV4 buyers have to order months ahead, and nearly every one that lands at a dealership is already spoken for.
The supply crunch comes after the automaker decided to keep producing the 2025 model well into the fourth quarter last year.
Toyota produced few RAV4s in January and February after two plants in Ontario, Canada, underwent retrofits for the overhauled 2026 model. Its Kentucky plant got a late start on the new model after the automaker decided not to phase out the RAV4 from that plant.
Carmakers normally build buffer stocks before factories are reworked for a new model. But an analyst said that strategy is harder for Toyota because of what is usually a good problem to have: the automaker's vehicles sell at a faster rate.
Number of the Day
114
The American Trucking Associations for-hire truck tonnage index for September, flat with 2025 and up 0.8% from August in the first monthly increase since June.
Transportation
Thieves are finding weak links in transportation networks to steal high-value cargo. The WSJ's Esther Fung writes that thieves stole nearly $1 million worth of trading cards from a FedEx truck in Santa Ana, Calif., last week.
The truck was transporting the trading cards from a firm that helps owners value their collections, Professional Sports Authenticator, and was going to ship the cards back.
Santa Ana police said two pallets of sports and Pokémon cards were taken from the (FedEx) truck, while a third pallet showed signs of being disturbed. The lock on the truck was also gone.
PSA said the items weren't in its possession at the time of the burglary, and it learned of the theft from the shipping carrier. The company said it deactivated the certificates of the stolen items and notified marketplace partners. It is also taking steps to compensate owners for the fair market value of their stolen cards.
-- Pakistan arrested a man accused of running a counterfeit operation that caused $126 million in losses to the U.S. Postal Service. $(BBC)$
-- New York state investigators arrested 16 people accused of staging car crashes to collect nearly $500,000 from insurers. (Transport Topics)
Quote of the Day
"There's no more oil to discharge to China anymore." Homayoun Falakshahi, head of crude-oil analysis at Kpler, about Iran's offshore oil reserves.
In Other News
U.K. inflation rose 3.5% in September compared with a year earlier. (WSJ)
Canada plans to provide billions in financial support to the steel and auto sectors. (WSJ)
Carrier Global plans to invest over $600 million in a new Fort Worth, Texas, plant to make cooling equipment for data centers and other industrial buildings. (WSJ)
Elon Musk said Tesla could be ready to start shipping its Optimus humanoid robots to outside companies by the end of next year. (WSJ)
Hudbay Minerals and Mitsubishi approved construction of a major copper mine in the U.S. (WSJ)
Kuehne + Nagel raised its full-year guidance again as quarterly earnings increased, with demand from cloud and semiconductor customers driving volume growth. (WSJ)
President Trump said he will require companies that build large data centers to provide their own electricity. (WSJ)
EBay plans to cut about 9% of its workforce, its second round of layoffs this year. (WSJ)
Revenue at Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings grew 14% in the third quarter to $2.2 billion. (Associated Press)
The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Karnakis & Karnakis, alleging the law firm was supporting Iranian shipping. (TradeWinds)
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is deploying more maritime patrol aircraft, drones and radar systems to the Black Sea. (Splash247)
Fulfillment provider Stord acquired AMS Fulfillment for about $200 million. (Axios)
A Washington judge allowed a class-action suit against truck maker Paccar to proceed to trial. (Commercial Carrier Journal)
The vacancy rate of warehouses near U.S. ports climbed to 7.7% through July, compared with 6.8% nationally. (DC Velocity)
A protest by Italian truck drivers over fuel prices and the cost of living is causing food shortages in shops. (Reuters)
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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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
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