Growing U.S. energy business and container operators are on a collision course in the Houston ship channel. Energy exporters say a move to accept larger container ships at the Houston port threatens to constrict the shale boom, the WSJ’s Christopher M. Matthews and Erica E. Phillips report, leaving the port caught between separate shipping sectors that offer lucrative business along with lots of physical scale. The wrangling is the result of big trends in shipping that are triggering competing demands for space. Port Houston has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to accommodate the larger container ships now prevalent in seaborne trade. Houston is also the largest U.S. gateway for energy exports, and those producers want the port to limit the longer box ships to one vessel a week. Houston’s 50-mile channel now handles two-way traffic, but it may not be big enough for two upsized maritime sectors.

Preparations for the U.K.’s exit from the European Union are turning to an emergency scenario. Britain and the European Union are stepping up planning for a Brexit without a withdrawal agreement, the WSJ’s Laurence Norman and Jason Douglas write, including temporary arrangements that would seek to cushion people and businesses from the most serious impact of the exit. Among the plans, the government would put 3,500 military personnel on standby to cope with fallout that would likely include jammed seaports and cracks in manufacturing, medical and food supply chains. Brussels and London are looking at various near-term reciprocal agreements. The EU would allow British truckers to carry goods into the EU, for instance, if the U.K. allows EU firms to do likewise. Businesses aren’t assuaged, warning in a statement, “There is simply not enough time to prevent severe dislocation and disruption” in the next 100 days.
 

It takes creativity these days to push price increases upstream in supply chains. Food companies are promoting new flavors, adjusting product portions and tweaking packaging to cover higher materials and logistics costs, the WSJ’s Heather Haddon and Annie Gasparro report, as tough competition holds down prices elsewhere in the supermarket. The tug-of-war over prices is one reason sales by volume in the dry-grocery sector were flat in the year ending in November while prices rose 2% over the same period. General Mills Inc. says higher prices this year helped improve its profit margin despite record-high freight costs and disappointing sales growth. Chief Executive Jeff Harmening says the company won’t “chase volume at the expense of profitability.” That’s triggering tough negotiations between food suppliers and stores that want to keep a lid on prices, and new packaging strategies that help higher prices go down easier for consumers.

Growing tensions over prices in coffee supply chains are prompting some growers to leave the business. Record crops in Brazil and sharp currency fluctuations have helped push prices at the producer level down 20% this year, the WSJ’s Julie Wernau and Robbie Whelan report, extending a trend that experts say has sent coffee prices falling for the longest stretch since 2008. That’s a sharp contrast with the retail sector, where consumption of premium coffees is soaring. One industry measure shows the retail price of specialty coffee rose 5.6% in the third quarter, even as the composite price for green coffee purchased from farmers fell 11.1% to 99 cents a pound. The fall in prices has upended lives across Latin America. Cooperatives that provide financial and technical support to coffee growers have long waiting lists. And some producers in the region are abandoning crops and migrating for new jobs.

The Federal Reserve is raising short-term interest rates another quarter-percentage point while signaling a milder path for future rate increases. (WSJ)

Retail sales in the U.K. jumped 1.4% from October to November. (WSJ)

Canada's annual inflation rate decelerated sharply in November. (WSJ)

Flights at London Gatwick Airport were halted because of suspected drone operations nearby. (WSJ)

Canada unveiled a $1.2 billion financial support package for the country’s struggling energy sector. (WSJ)

Pier 1 Imports Inc. slashed spending plans and named a new chief executive after sales fell 11% in the past nine months. (WSJ)

U.S. exporters sold the second round of soybeans to Chinese buyers since the trans-Pacific trade truce. (Reuters)

Developers are building a grain transload facility in Western Canada aimed at boosting exports. (Journal of Commerce)

Japan is accelerating efforts to collaborate with Russia on Arctic region shipping and natural gas exploration projects. (Nikkei Asian Review)

A report by the New York attorney general detailed rampant fraud in seafood supply chains. (Supply Chain Dive)

Walmart Inc. expects to offer same-day delivery to 60% of the U.S. population by next year. (CNBC)

Royal Dutch Shell PLC will charter a total of six liquefied natural gas carriers with TMS Cardiff and Sovcomflot. (Lloyd’s List)

Maersk Line and Mediterranean Shipping Co. will add ships but reduce port calls in revamped Asia-Europe container services. (American Shipper)

Russia will maintain subsidies for automotive logistics operations while eliminating supports for auto and parts makers. (Automotive Logistics)

The European Investment Bank will allocate $170 million to finance construction of 43 warehouses in Romania. (Logistics Manager)

Indian startup Moglix raised $23 million to back its plan for e-commerce connections in manufacturing supply chains. (TechCrunch)

A record 840 truck drivers died on the job in 2017. (Trucks.com)

Federal regulators rejected a broad exemption from electronic logging device rules for independent truck drivers. (Progressive Farmer)

China’s road freight transport growth slowed sharply to 5.7% in November. (Xinhua)

Ceva Logistics executives told a Florida court that Apollo Global Management pushed them to take stakes in the freight forwarder that became worthless. (The Loadstar)

London-based food delivery startup Deliveroo opened a food hall in Hong Kong. (Post & Parcel)

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.