Competition between auto makers is becoming a battle over the supply chains behind electric vehicles. Car companies are forging new partnerships with raw-materials producers and investing in facilities that make chemicals for batteries, the WSJ’s Ben Foldy reports, as they look to ensure supplies of critical components and exert more control over the quality of batteries. General Motors, Volkswagen and others have already been spending heavily on joint-venture battery factories as they reset their production strategies for an electric future. The new investments and agreements go beyond that, with deals including separate pacts by Volkswagen and Stellantis to lock up supplies of lithium crucial to batteries. GM will work with South Korea’s POSCO on a North American factory to produce cathode materials, another critical component. The moves signal that the industry is again embracing elements of vertical integration as technology upends auto makers’ longstanding supply chains.

Real-estate firm CBRE Investment Management is placing a big bet on continued high demand for industrial sites. The company is buying a global portfolio of logistics properties valued at $4.9 billion, the WSJ’s Peter Grant reports, in one of the largest sales ever of industrial properties. The facilities were built or are being developed by Hillwood Investment Properties and include more than 28 million square feet of warehouses, distribution centers and other logistics facilities in the U.S., the U.K., Germany and Poland. The deal is the latest big investment built on the transformation of supply chains triggered by the boom in e-commerce and the pandemic that is squeezing industrial space. CBRE estimates the U.S. national average vacancy rate fell to 3.6% in last year’s third quarter, the lowest level in data going back to 2002, and that industrial rents jumped more than 10% in the quarter.

U.S. steel companies are taking stronger control of their scrap supply chains. Producers Nucor, Cleveland-Cliffs and BlueScope Steel spent more than $1 billion buying steel scrap processors in 2021, the WSJ’s Bob Tita reports, as they added millions of tons of annual production capacity to meet rising domestic demand for steel. The companies are responding to a changed landscape for steel by having more of their scrap come from their own supplies. The strategy reflects a broader push across the manufacturing sector that has companies taking ownership of a bigger part of their supply chains. It’s in part a response to the disruptions in the flow of raw materials and parts during the pandemic but it also reflects the higher prices that raise the stakes for producers. Prices for steel reached record highs last year and efforts to boost output are adding pressure on the U.S. scrap market.

Supply logjams at U.S. and European factories eased in December for a second straight month. (WSJ)

U.S. airlines canceled thousands of additional flights amid a severe winter storm and Omicron-driven staff shortages. (WSJ) 

Cellphone carriers rejected a federal government request to delay the launch of new 5G wireless services because of the potential impact on airline operations. (WSJ)

Singapore’s economy grew an estimated 5.9% in the fourth quarter. (Straits Times)

China added coronavirus-related restrictions around the city of Ningbo that raise the potential for new disruptions at the world’s third largest container port. (Lloyd’s List)

The Port of Oakland opened a 25-acre container yard aimed at improving export flows. (DC Velocity)

Cargo shipped through the Suez Canal grew 13% last year to a record 1.27 billion tons. (Economic Times)

Canadian trucker Bison Transport acquired Maine-based truckload carrier Hartt Transportation. (Commercial Carrier Journal)

IDC estimates that 50% of all supply chain forecasts will be automated using artificial intelligence by 2023. (Logistics Management)

ABI Research forecasts global spending on industrial digital twin technology will reach $4.6 billion next year and climb to $33.9 billion in 2030. (Supply Chain Quarterly)

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

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