Freight operators have a new reminder that the U.S. military can be one of their toughest customers of all. The Justice Department is suing trucking units of YRC Worldwide Inc., the WSJ Logistics Report’s Erica E. Phillips writes, alleging the businesses including YRC Freight overcharged the Pentagon millions of dollars for shipping over several years. The dispute over the weight a shipper is charged for is relatively common in the freight world, but the scale of the Department of Defense business and the extended time of the dispute over more than seven years gives the Pentagon-YRC impasse extra heft. YRC denies the allegations and says it fully complied with Defense rules throughout the period. Freight carriers can find those detailed rules challenging as they pursue the business. Global freight forwarder Agility last year ended a years-long dispute over a military supply contract by paying a civil charge under a settlement.

XPO Logistics Inc.’s high-flying ride on Wall Street is turning into a roller-coaster. A pullback in its earnings outlook followed by a negative short-seller report sent XPO’s shares into a tailspin, the WSJ’s Logistics Report’s Jennifer Smith writes, before the announcement of its first-ever stock buyback program prompted a turnaround and statements of support from analysts. The volatile swings were perhaps an inevitable turn for a business that’s been on a steady growth path since Chief Executive Bradley Jacobs jumped into logistics with an aggresive growth plan built on acquisitions that’s turned XPO into a $15.4 billion heavyweight. XPO’s high profile also makes it something of a logistics bellwether, so its careening share price may provide a warning to the sector. There are growing signs shipping's big growth cycle has peaked, suggesting other operators may also be in for a rough ride.

Amazon.com Inc. is taking its push for stronger profits to the big brands that sell on its marketplace. The e-commerce behemoth is in the midst of a concerted and targeted drive aimed at the goods that can’t seem to sell or make money, the WSJ’s Laura Stevens, Sharon Terlep and Annie Gasparro report, and wants big brands to change how they use its site and how they package and ship orders. Inside Amazon, the items are known as CRaP, for “Can’t Realize a Profit,” and they often carry troublesome logistics needs. The products tend to be priced at $15 or less, are sold directly by Amazon, and are heavy or bulky and costly to ship—characteristics that make for thin or nonexistent margins. Changing how sellers handle such goods may boost Amazon’s margins, but the suppliers may end up taking on a bigger share of the costs.

Boeing Co. is trying to fly through an international trade firestorm with its latest production expansion. The aircraft manufacturer just opened what it calls a “completion and deliver center” in the Chinese island of Zhoushan, the WSJ’s Trefor Moss reports, establishing a new foothold aimed at building up business in the country’s burgeoning aviation sector. The site south of Shanghai also highlights the tightrope Boeing is walking as it tries to advance its commercial strategy in its top export market while steering clear of the trade tensions buffeting U.S.-China relations. Boeing is the single biggest American exporter to China, giving the company and the U.S. an enormous stake in the aircraft sales. One of every four Boeing deliveries goes to China, and the company expects Chinese carriers to buy one in six of all jetliners sold globally over the next two decades.

U.S. factory output was flat in November. (WSJ)

U.S. retail sales rose 0.2% from October to November and 4.2% from the same month last year. (WSJ)

Growth average hourly compensation for U.S. private-sector workers accelerated to 2.9% in the third quarter. (WSJ)

China is suspending the punitive tariffs placed on U.S.-made cars and auto parts in a move to smooth trade negotiations. (WSJ)

Negotiators from around the world agreed on a rulebook to curb global warming. (WSJ) 

General Motors Co. will add about 2,700 workers at U.S. factories starting next year. (WSJ)

Authorities are investigating a possible drone collision with an Aeromexico jet that landed in Tijuana. (WSJ)

Longtime Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. executive Lucy Peng is stepping down as chief executive of the e-commerce giant’s Lazada Group after nine months. (WSJ)

Apple Inc. is in talks to shift production of older iPhone models to a Taiwanese supplier to avert sanctions in China. (Nikkei Asian Review)

Bangladesh garment businesses have been hit by strikes at factories and a freight handling facility. (Sourcing Journal)

Workers picketed an Amazon warehouse outside Minneapolis over working conditions there. (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

British online grocer Ocado PLC boosted order handling at its robotic fulfillment centers by 13.1% in the most recent quarter. (Logistics Manager)

United Parcel Service Inc. bought land in Worcester County, Mass., for a planned 800,000-square-foot distribution center. (Springfield Republican)

Volvo Trucks North America is developing an electric version of its VNR regional truck. (Commercial Carrier Journal)

CSX Corp. shareholders are suing the freight railroad's directors, claiming they withheld information about Hunter Harrison’s failing health before hiring him as chief executive. (Florida Times-Union)

European regulators approved Germany’s plan to spend $396 million a year on projects to shift road freight to rail. (Railway Pro)

The recent decline in trans-Pacific spot shipping rates accelerated at a sharp rate. (The Loadstar)

Three South Korean vessel operators are preparing nearly $600 million in orders for dry bulk ships from China’s New Times Shipbuilding. (TradeWinds)

Maersk Line says it has had a strong positive response from other maritime operators to its clean-air pledge. (Splash 247) 

CMA CGM SA subsidiary Containerships took delivery of its first LNG-powered vessel. (Port Technology)

New Zealand’s Ports of Auckland is studying hydrogen power for terminal equipment in a push to eliminate emissions by 2040. (Seatrade Maritime)

An infestation of brown marmorated stink bugs has cost ocean carrier Wallenius Wilhelmsen $3 million. (Lloyd’s List)

Paul Page is editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Write to him at paul.page@wsj.com.

Follow the WSJ Logistics Report team: @PaulPage, @jensmithWSJ, @EEPhillips_WSJ, @CostasParis. Follow the WSJ Logistics Report on Twitter at @WSJLogistics.