Today’s Logistics Report: Infrastructure’s Fast Lane; Seeking Automotive Chips; Coal Biting Back

Infrastructure is moving closer to the top of White House policy priorities, thanks to China. President Biden warned that Beijing’s advances in transportation are giving it an advantage over the U.S., the WSJ’s Andrew Restuccia reports, as he pitched Congress on passing an economic recovery package that includes infrastructure improvements. Transportation groups in Washington have been pressing for more attention to highways and ports, and they’ve pointed to the expiration this September of the multi-year surface transport spending plan as the likely impetus. Mr. Biden’s support may advance that schedule. White House aides say infrastructure will be at the center of a prospective new legislative package following the $1.9 trillion Covid relief plan now on Capitol Hill. The president met with a bipartisan group of senators in a bid to jumpstart an agreement on infrastructure spending, signaling the plan could be on a fast track.

QUOTABLE

SUPPLY CHAIN STRATEGIES

The White House is stepping into the semiconductor supply-chain disruption that is jolting the automotive industry. The actions are among the first high-profile moves to address shortages that have slowed assembly lines around the world, including manufacturing operations at major U.S. auto makers, the WSJ’s Alex Leary and Asa Fitch report. The White House is talking to allies about potential near-term solutions, but it could take a long time to get a dependable supply of chips heading to auto plants. The administration is planning a comprehensive review of supply chains, including actions the U.S. can take to scale up chip production. Semiconductor industry executives say it can take months, or even years, to significantly expand production capacity. The chip industry is pushing for more investment in U.S. investment in manufacturing and research, another solution that will take years to push more electronics to auto makers.

COMMODITIES

Beijing’s ban on Australian coal imports is ricocheting back on China itself. The diplomatic brawl that has left bulk carriers languishing at sea is intensifying a crisis in China’s coal market, the WSJ’s Chuin-Wei Yap reports, triggering surging prices and supply shortages during a harsh winter when thermal coal is in high demand. The ban that was imposed late last year is complicating an ongoing supply crunch in the country. Authorities are pressing companies to import more coal from anywhere but Australia, which has been China’s biggest supplier. But Chinese buyers are paying steep premiums for imports from farther afield, on top of prices that have risen 84% since midyear. China has tapped into its coal reserves to meet the demand. That hasn’t weighed on the country’s coal-dependent industrial output yet, but persistent high prices could start hitting China’s manufacturing sector, and a public outcry could grow.

IN OTHER NEWS

The U.K. economy shrank 9.9% in 2020, the country’s biggest annual contraction in three centuries. (WSJ)

Economists in a survey on average expect 4.9% growth in the U.S. economy this year, an increase from earlier projections. (WSJ)

New U.S. worker filings for unemployment claims fell to the lowest level since the start of the year. (WSJ)

Home prices are rising at an accelerating pace across the U.S. (WSJ)

A federal trade panel ruled against battery maker

SK Innovation Inc.

in a case that could disrupt

Ford Motor Corp.

and

Volkswagen AG

plans to build electric vehicles in the U.S. (WSJ)

New reports forecast that a recovery in global oil demand will accelerate in the second half of this year. (WSJ)

Royal Dutch Shell

PLC says it will cut output 1% to 2% a year as it seeks to capitalize on a shift to low-carbon power. (WSJ)

Propane prices have climbed more than 70% since late November, thanks to a surge in patio heating and rising exports to Asia. (WSJ)

Steelmaker

ArcelorMittal

swung to a $1.21 billion profit in the fourth quarter despite declining revenue. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Brazil raised its forecast for soybean and corn production in the current growing season. (Dow Jones Newswires)

At least five people were killed in a massive pileup on an icy Texas interstate involving tractor-trailers and 70 to 100 cars. (WSJ)

Two credit rating agencies turned negative on SF Holding after the Chinese company’s decision to take a controlling stake in Kerry Logistics for $2.3 billion. (Nikkei Asian Review)

A measure of U.S. business spending on freight and shipping rose 12.3% in the fourth quarter. (CSCMP Supply Chain Quarterly)

Sportswear manufacturer

Under Armour Inc.

will stop supplying up to 3,000 stores in the next year as it advances direct-to-consumer business. (CNBC)

Experts project rising demand and a sparse vessel order book will fuel a “supercycle” for dry-bulk shipping in the next two years. (Lloyd’s List)

Freight companies say congestion began slowing container operations at major Chinese ports leading up to the Lunar New Year. (Journal of Commerce)

Ocean Network Express is testing use of a biofuel in a trans-Atlantic container ship sailing. (Splash 247)

Ocean forwarder ECU Worldwide’s IT systems were taken down by a “cyber incident.” (The Loadstar)

Royal Mail

PLC’s parcel volumes rose 30% to 496 million packages in the last three months of 2020. (The Guardian)

A 23-year-old United Parcel Service Inc. driver was shot and killed while making deliveries in downtown Raleigh, N.C. (Raleigh News & Observer)

The Oxfordshire area northwest of London has become a magnet for e-commerce fulfillment operations. (Logistics Manager)

A California court rejected a request by maritime and trucking groups to slow development of a baseball stadium at a Port of Oakland freight terminal. (San Francisco Chronicle)

ABOUT US

Paul Page is editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Follow the WSJ Logistics Report team: @PaulPage, @jensmithWSJ and @CostasParis. Follow the WSJ Logistics Report on Twitter at @WSJLogistics.

Write to Paul Page at [email protected]