Federal aviation officials are preparing to launch an AI-powered air-traffic control tool in one of the nation's busiest corridors as soon as Monday, The Wall Street Journal's Andrew Tangel writes.

The software, called Smart, is expected to help the Federal Aviation Administration and airlines reduce delays and cancellations and find routes for flights when disruptions scramble air traffic. It will make its debut in the Washington, D.C., area ahead of a broader nationwide rollout, according to government and industry officials.

Smart stands for Strategic Management of Airspace, Routes and Trajectories. The software can analyze airline schedules and factors such as weather, airport runway capacity and operational constraints to predict air-traffic flows and foresee potential conflicts.

The firm Air Space Intelligence won a $875 million, 12-year government contract earlier this year to build out Smart and a related system. When fully rolled out across U.S. airspace, it is supposed to act as something like the brains of the nation's air-traffic control system.

-- A French airline grounded an upgraded aircraft built by an Airbus joint venture after pilots reported fumes leaking into the cockpit, causing migraines and other symptoms. (WSJ)

-- The FAA gave Boeing an emissions exemption for its 777 freighter that will allow the aircraft manufacturer to keep selling them past the end of next year. (Air Cargo News)

Last-Mile Delivery

Costco is expanding its fast-delivery network as it works to grow sales in new ways, the Journal's Sarah Nassauer writes.

Uber said this week it would expand its partnership with (Costco) to deliver products in 47 U.S. states, up from 17. On Thursday, DoorDash said it would also start delivering Costco products from all U.S. locations.

The moves mark an expansion of Costco's fast-delivery network, as the membership warehouse retailer ramps up its e-commerce offerings. Costco has long worked with Instacart to make fast home deliveries from its stores, using the service's network of contract drivers to outsource the service.

Quotable

"Unfortunately, many ships' IT systems are interconnected with other systems on a ship-the systems that control the engineering plant, propulsion, navigation, et cetera."Rear Adm. Amy Grable, commander of the U.S. Coast Guard's Cyber Command, on the risks of cyberattacks on ships

Energy

Fuel prices have surged to historic highs, and with November's midterm elections approaching, the oil-and-gas industry is concerned that the U.S. might ban the exports of some types of fuels, such as diesel.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.) said he was open to exploring a ban. Rep. Tim Burchett (R., Tenn.) has proposed implementing export controls on diesel. Although cabinet members have long shot down the idea, more recently they have appeared to leave the door open to potential restrictions.

The national average price for a gallon of diesel topped $6 for the first time last week and now sits at $6.40, and prices are expected to keep climbing as farmers gear up for the harvest season and as cold weather approaches.

Analysts and oil executives say curtailments could have unintended consequences that would likely end up increasing prices domestically. The WSJ's Benoît Morenne and Collin Eaton explain how a ban might work.

-- The Trump administration is temporarily easing hours-of-service rules for truck drivers hauling gasoline and diesel, allowing them to operate up to 16 hours in a day, with required breaks. (Reuters)

Number of the Day

$10,394

Average spot rate to ship a 40-foot container from Shanghai to New York for the week ended Sept. 17, up 7% from the week before and nearly triple the average a year earlier, according to Drewry's World Container Index.

In Other News

-- U.S. housing starts fell 2.6% in August to 1.275 million, according to the Commerce Department. (WSJ)

-- U.S. jobless claims fell to 196,000 in the week through Sept. 12, down 10,000 from the previous week. (WSJ)

-- Canada's industrial product price index rose 1.3% in July from June, driven by higher energy and petroleum prices. (WSJ)

-- U.K. retail sales volumes rose 0.5% in August, rebounding from a 0.5% decline in July. (WSJ)

-- The union representing more than 9,000 Canadian Stellantis workers warned of a potential strike unless the carmaker changes course on its plan to sell a Toronto-area factory. (WSJ)

-- Lennar cut its full-year home delivery target to between 80,000 and 81,000 homes, citing interest rate pressure and worsening market conditions. (WSJ)

-- Generac Holdings signed a $2.4 billion deal to sell data-center generators to Amazon. (Dow Jones Newswires)

-- A bipartisan pair of senators are asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate how Amazon and Walmart's AI-powered shopping chatbots handle "Made in the USA" claims with shoppers. (WSJ)

-- Volvo Car plans to launch 13 new car models by the end of the decade in its largest-ever product push to revive its fortunes. (WSJ)

-- Customs and Border Protection will stop allowing incomplete paperwork for international mail into the U.S. starting Oct. 22, potentially leading to shipments being delayed or rejected. (Journal of Commerce)

-- Toyota Motor plans to bring in 400,000 humanoid robots it developed as it upgrades production sites worldwide. (Nikkei Asia)

-- The Port of Los Angeles said it foiled more than 120 million cyberattack attempts last month. (Bloomberg)

-- An explosion at a Houston warehouse killed at least two people and injured more than a dozen others. (KTSA)

Dow Jones Risk Journal Podcast

In this week's episode: The conflict between the U.S. and Iran could be reshaped by Yemen's Houthis, as they take a vital port in the Red Sea. Also, AI CEOs are urging a slowdown, but the practicality of doing so is questionable. New episodes every Friday on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon.

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.