New retail sales trends are bringing some relief to congested parcel delivery networks this holiday season. Merchants are spreading out the promotions that have become an indelible feature of the last week of the year, the WSJ Logistics Report’s Jennifer Smith writes, a strategy that is minimizing the sharp upward spikes in shipping volume that creates distribution bottlenecks. That doesn’t mean the flood of packages is slowing down: U.S. retail sales soared on the post-Thanksgiving buying-binge days known as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but they rose even faster in the days leading up to the holiday. Officials at Deutsche Post AG’s DHL eCommerce America unit report volumes rose even more the week after the holiday than the week before. Spreading out shipments can keep parcel sorting and handling operations running smoothly, and early measures on-time delivery rates in fact have been strong. 

Stresses in shipping are creating new conflicts over the sector’s role in national economies and international trade. State support for maritime business is rising as countries look to protect national interests and extend their influence abroad, the WSJ Logistics Report’s Costas Paris writes in a Shipping Matters commentary, even as operators struggle to recover from a financial battering and structural upheaval. New state subsidies and other support are helping reshape the sector even as private operators argue against the special treatment. The latest examples are coming in Asia, where China’s support of its maritime sector is part of the country’s massive trade infrastructure initiative. South Korea, meantime, is lining up new aid for its shipyards and container operations as Seoul seeks to protect employment in an industry critical to its export-focused economy. Critics say the efforts distort shipping markets, but history suggests the support is here to stay.

Businesses are hoping a truce in the U.S.-China showdown over trade turns into more than a temporary cease-fire. An agreement to stand down from impending new trade restrictions gets the countries off a collision course toward an economic Cold War, the WSJ’s  James T. Areddy and Kwanwoo Jun write, and will likely slow a scramble by manufacturers to alter supply chains before the end of the year. China’s pledge to buy more American products also could boost trans-Pacific shipments of commodities like soybeans and natural gas and boost prices for the goods. The leaders didn’t bridge major differences in the complex economic relationship. But the administration will put off plans to lift tariffs on $200 billion of goods to 25% in January. And President Trump says China will cut tariffs on American-made cars, the WSJ's Trefor Moss reports, signaling China may undertake bigger changes in its trade practices.

Running one of the world’s foundation supply chains may be hard, but running it free of corruption is even harder. Apple Inc. recently invested possible kickbacks, bribes and other business misconduct in its operations, the WSJ’s Yoko Kubota and Tripp Mickle report, rattling some suppliers even as the tech giant says it found no evidence of wrongdoing. Apple acknowledged the investigation, which came in the spring and apparently involved allegations of possible kickbacks in China from at least one supplier to Apple employees. The probe came as several members of Apple’s procurement team left the company for reasons that are unclear. Apple has strict rules for conduct between suppliers and its employees to guard against kickbacks and other unethical behavior that is a constant concern in supply chains. Experts say questions over corruption loom large in China as businesses have sought to establish and expand operations there.

Correction: The Cass Freight Index spending measure declined 2.4% month-to-month in October. The Friday, Nov. 30 newsletter said incorrectly the index declined on an annual basis.

President Trump plans to terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement ahead of congressional consideration of the reworked agreement. (WSJ)

Oil prices surged today after Russia said it would join Saudi Arabia in cutting crude output (WSJ)

Eurozone consumer prices slowed more sharply than expected last month. (WSJ)

Canada’s economic growth slowed to a 2% annual rate in the third quarter. (WSJ)

India’s economic growth slowed to 7.1% in the in the latest quarter. (WSJ)

South Korea’s exports rose 4.5% in October, slowing sharply from the month before. (WSJ)

Unilever PLC is buying Indian malted-milk drink brand Horlicks from GlaxoSmithKline PLC as part of a $3.75 billion deal. (WSJ)

United Continental Holdings. Inc. will work with Colombia’s Avianca Holdings SA under an unusual arrangement to pay off debt owed to a hedge fund. (WSJ)

J.Crew Group Inc. is dropping its Mercantile budget clothing line, calling into question the retailer’s sales deal with Amazon. (WSJ)

Nissan Motor Co. canceled the rollout of its longer-range Leaf electric car amid turmoil at the business. (WSJ)

Sections of an Alaska Railroad track north of Anchorage were damaged in last week's large earthquake. (Fairbanks Daily News-Miner)

Japan’s factory output expanded in October at the fastest rate in three and a half years. (Bloomberg)

Cambodia’s apparel and footwear exports soared 16.1% in the first half of 2018. (Sourcing Journal)

U.S. soybean exports fell 43% in the year through Nov. 22, equivalent to the loss of 122 panamax ship loads. (Lloyd’s List)

Jaguar Land Rover is laying off about 200 workers in the U.K. as it moves some production to Slovakia. (Times of London)

U.K. truckers are competing for a limited number of permits that will allow them to operate in the European Union under a “no-deal” Brexit. (Motor Transport)

Samsung Electronics estimates the leak of its latest display technology to Chinese rivals will cost the company $5.8 billion in sales. (Nikkei Asian Review)

More U.S. trucking companies are using in-house training and apprenticeships to bring in drivers. (Journal of Commerce)

Some California trucking companies are resetting driver agreements to sidestep potential tougher rules on contractors. (Commercial Carrier Journal)

DB Schenker AG named three new board members as the German logistics company’s parent considers spinning off the unit in 2019. (Financial Times)

Sri Lanka signed contracts with two Chinese firms for a port upgrade project despite strains in the countries’ relations. (Reuters)

Amazon says bananas are the most popular order for its fast Amazon Prime Now service this year. (CNet)

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.