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Ford, SK Group Scrap Battery JV; U.S. Trade Deficit Hits Five-Year Low; Mexican Tariffs Rile Beijing By Mark R. Long | WSJ Logistics Report

Ford Motor and SK Group are ending their joint effort to produce EV batteries in the U.S. The WSJ's Christopher Otts writes that SK On, the South Korean conglomerate's battery unit, will take sole ownership of the joint venture's battery plant in Tennessee, while Ford will take two side-by-side battery plants

the JV built in Kentucky.

The Tennessee plant is nearly finished and will supply batteries to Ford, as well as make stationary batteries for utilities, data centers and other energy storage customers. SK On said the start of production was flexible and tied to the ownership transition. A Ford spokesman declined to comment. One of the Kentucky plants

has been mothballed, with no equipment installed. The other began production this year but is operating well below its designed capacity.

The Ford-SK partnership, called BlueOval SK, was announced in 2021 with a plan to spend $11 billion on the plants.The split is the latest fallout from the auto industry's retreat from EVs amid underwhelming demand, the end of federal tax credits and the scrapping of fuel-economy penalties.

Rivian is doubling down on an AI-centric approach to develop fully autonomous vehicles , as the money-losing EV maker faces a tough market for its trucks and SUVs. (WSJ) CONTENT FROM: PENSKE LOGISTICS Gain a Closer Look. Gain Ground With Penske Logistics.

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Economy

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in September to its lowest level since June 2020, when the pandemic disrupted global supply chains and made it difficult for the U.S. to ship in goods from abroad. The Journal's Chao Deng and Matt Grossman write that the deficit narrowed mostly because U.S. investors moved gold back overseas

after a run-up in imports

of the precious metal.

Stronger exports of consumer goods, including pharmaceuticals, also helped increase the sum of America's sales to foreigners. U.S. exports rose to $289.3 billion in September, while imports increased more modestly, to $342.1 billion, yielding a trade deficit of $52.8 billion, versus $59.3 billion in August. On the import side, computer and accessories fell by $2.7 billion, suggesting that the AI build-out wasn't quite as strong as some predicted, one economist said.

Canada logged its first trade surplus in eight months in September as exports rebounded and domestic demand showed signs of softening. (Dow Jones Newswires) Number of the Day Global Trade

Mexico's move to ratchet up tariffs on key Chinese imports brought a swift rebuke from Beijing as Mexican authorities prepare for a review of a vital free-trade deal

with the U.S. and Canada.

The Journal's Jonathan Cheng and Santiago Pérez write that Mexico's senate approved a bill Wednesday to raise tariffs to as high as 50% on cars, steel and other goods

from China and other Asian countries with which it lacks a trade agreement. The measures will likely affect companies like BYD, which exports affordable, Chinese-made EVs

to Mexico. Automakers with factories in Mexico such as GM and Ford will be allowed to import vehicles made in China tariff-free.

Beijing urged Mexico to rectify what it called "unilateral, protectionist practices." Mexico scaled back the duties from the initial announcement, but China's Commerce Ministry said they were still harmful to China's national interests.

Truck drivers and farmers have been staging coordinated blockades

on Mexico's highways for several weeks to protest a rash of robberies and assaults on cargo drivers. (Bloomberg)

Quotable In Other News U.S. initial jobless claims rose to 236,000 last week , up from 192,000, but remained within 2025's typical range, the Labor Department said. (WSJ) Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated that federal data might be overstating job creation

by up to 60,000 jobs monthly. (WSJ) China's top leaders pledged to prioritize supporting domestic demand

in their policy roadmap for 2026, vowing to continue to support consumers as external uncertainties appear set to persist. (WSJ) Thyssenkrupp will close electrical steel plants

from mid-December in Germany and France until year-end, with the French site operating at 50% capacity for at least four months beginning in January. (WSJ) Ninety-five percent of 400 U.S. industrial businesses surveyed by RobCo plan to roll out new automation

within the next three years. (SupplyChain24/7) Agility Robotics will deploy its humanoid robot

called Digit to support e-commerce fulfillment at a Mercado Libre facility in Texas. (DC Velocity) Textile waste-management startup SuperCircle raised $24 million to expand supply-chain data capture , AI-powered sorting, textile recovery and processing. $(WWD)$ Norfolk Southern will provide carload service

to a $6 billion Eli Lilly manufacturing facility in Huntsville, Ala., scheduled to open in 2032. (TrainsPRO) Over 35 animal-rights groups urged the International Maritime Organization to tighten rules on livestock carriers

following the deaths of dozens of cattle on a vessel banned from docking in Turkey last month. (TradeWinds) Orders of Class 8 heavy-duty trucks fell 47% year-over-year in November to 19,700 units, according to preliminary data from ACT Research. (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 .

This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 12, 2025 07:03 ET (12:03 GMT)

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