Amazon.com Inc. is bringing FedEx Corp. partly back into its shipping fold. The e-commerce giant says its third-party merchants can once again use FedEx Ground to ship Amazon Prime orders, the WSJ’s Paul Ziobro reports, ending a bar on using the package carrier that was imposed during the final rush before Christmas. Amazon says it lifted the ban after the FedEx Ground and Home services began consistently meeting its delivery requirements. That repairs one part of a fractured business relationship that broke last year when the companies severed ties on two major shipping contracts. The holiday-season bar on FedEx Ground left some third-party sellers facing higher costs as they scrambled to keep goods moving at the busiest time of year. Some turned to higher-priced FedEx Express service and others rushing to United Parcel Service Inc. for late shipping deals at likely premium peak-season rates.

A major switch in maritime fueling operations is moving ahead with barely a few ripples in the water. Shipping executives say the shift to low-sulfur fuel for ocean-going vessels is proceeding smoothly, the WSJ Logistics Report’s Costas Paris writes, with new blends available in most ports and operators reporting few problems with ship engines adapting to the fuel. There have been glitches and backups in some regions, but the chaos some operators envisioned hasn’t happened in the first weeks under the emissions-reduction mandate. Still, there is sticker shock over the high cost of the new low-sulfur formulations. The price for the fuel in Singapore was quoted this week at an average $670 a ton, some 64% higher than conventional bunker. The spread will likely narrow in the coming months, but carriers will be under more pressure to recoup the costs from their shipping customers.

Global sugar producers are reaping sweet returns from a looming supply shortfall in Asia. Sugar prices have been surging this year and so far have outstripped other soft-commodity markets, the WSJ’s Joe Wallace reports, with raw-sugar futures having recovered 33% since falling to a trough last September. Prices have shot up even further in local-currency terms in India and Brazil, easing the financial pressure on sugar producers in the countries after a sugar glut in India had depressed global prices for several years. The higher prices are the result of poor weather conditions for sugar farmers in India and Thailand, two of the world’s largest producers. The results are a likely bitter development in the bulk shipping sector, which has seen dimming volumes under global trade tensions. But sugar refiners are benefiting because white-sugar prices have risen further than raw-sugar prices, lifting their profit margins. 
 

U.S. consumer inflation wrapped up 2019 on a soft note, rising 2.3% in December from a year earlier. (WSJ)

The German economy grew 0.6% last year, the slowest expansion since 2013. (WSJ)

The U.S. and China will sign the first phase of a trade deal today that will include roughly $200 billion in Chinese purchases of American goods and services over the next two years. (WSJ)

China’s yuan strengthened to its strongest level since July after the U.S. removed the country from a list of currency manipulators. (WSJ)

Boeing Co.’s deliveries and new orders for its jetliners hit their lowest point in more than a decade last year. (WSJ)

Surveillance video appears to show two missiles hitting the Ukrainian jet downed over Tehran. (WSJ)

Delta Air Lines Inc.’s fourth-quarter profit rose on stronger passenger demand as cargo revenue fell 12.6%. (WSJ)

A bipartisan group of senators wants the U.S. government to subsidize electronics suppliers than can counter China’s 5G advances through Huawei Technologies Co. (WSJ)

A state-owned aluminum maker became the first Chinese company to default on dollar bonds this year. (WSJ)

Teen clothing retailer Forever 21 Inc. will sell two of its California warehouses for a total of $37 million to help pay off its bankruptcy loan. (WSJ)

Ford Motor Co. and Agility Robotics are testing humanoid robots to improve efficiency in parts warehouses. (Automotive Logistics)

Chinese e-commerce retailer JD.com is considering a secondary stock listing in Hong Kong. (Nikkei Asian Review)

Separate reports forecast the global container shipping fleet to grow by 3.5% to 3.7% in 2020. (Splash 247)

Maersk Line plans to focus on premium services such as “cold-chain” transport to avoid competing with freight-forwarding customers as it expands inland shipping services. (Reuters)

Singapore-based port terminal operator PSA International says container throughput at its world-wide sites rose 5.2% last year. (Lloyd’s List)

Greek ship operator Dynamo Tankers is in talks with a Chinese shipbuilder for six large crude carriers. (TradeWinds)

Freight transport service company Transplace Inc. acquired shipper-carrier collaborative technology provider LaneHub. (Journal of Commerce)

Financially-ailing truckload carrier Universal Logistics Holdings Inc. replaced chief executive Jeff Rogers with company veteran Tim Phillips. (Crain’s Detroit Business)

Orders for warehouse handling equipment fell 10.6% in November, according to the Conveyor Equipment Manufacturers Association. (Modern Materials Handling)

Former Martinair cargo executive Maria Ullings was extradited from Italy to the U.S. on price-fixing charges that were filed in 2010. (The Loadstar)

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

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