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The White House is declaring a victory of sorts in the supply-chain mess that clouded Christmas prospects for businesses and consumers. President Biden pointed to signs of progress in clearing backlogs and stocking stores, the WSJ’s Alex Leary writes, telling a meeting of retail and logistics executives ahead of the holidays, “Packages are moving, gifts are being delivered, shelves are not empty.” The attention of the White House points to the political stakes for the Biden administration in demonstrating that the U.S. economy is moving despite logjams that have tied up the flow of goods during 2021. There have been signs of progress, particularly among large retailers that recast supply-chain tactics to meet high consumer demand and for parcel carriers that scaled up efforts to ensure deliveries. Continuing congestion at ports suggests wider gains will require deeper changes in production, sourcing and other supply-chain strategies.

Southern California’s Inland Empire is adding transportation and warehousing jobs at a breakneck pace, but not fast enough to meet demand. Hiring at the warehouse-heavy region near the busy San Pedro Bay ports has surged almost 24% during the pandemic, the WSJ Logistics Report’s Paul Berger writes, even as vacancies skyrocket and companies battle to add staffers in the tightest U.S. labor market in years. The gap between the demand and available workers is a stark sign of the cracks in labor markets that have helped fuel supply-chain bottlenecks across the American economy. GXO Logistics says it has tripled its workforce in the region in two years yet still has 600 jobs open. The impact of the national labor squeeze is magnified in the Inland Empire, which hosts a sprawling network of warehouses that handles container imports as well as centers for labor-intensive e-commerce distribution.

The pandemic-fueled online shopping boom is driving the economy of Louisville, Ky., even as it creates a regional labor crunch. Moves by United Parcel Service and other big companies to raise wages are triggering fierce competition for workers, the WSJ’s Gabriel T. Rubin reports, and are putting pressure on restaurants and other employers to raise pay. The region’s unemployment is well below the national rate and the Louisville area has regained most of the 93,000 jobs it lost after the pandemic. UPS employs more than 25,000 people in the area, about the same as at the end of 2019. But the package giant pays those workers more and they are working more hours than before the pandemic, adding to their earnings. Employment in transportation and warehousing in Louisville has grown more than 50% in the past 10 years, to 64,700 jobs in October 2021, adding to the logistics ripple effect.

Some shippers looking to fly around the bottlenecks in ocean transportation are getting stuck at the airport. Labor shortages at air-cargo hubs like Chicago O’Hare International Airport have disrupted operations for companies that unload planes, the WSJ’s Doug Cameron reports, leaving goods backed up at overflowing warehouses and sending some air operators looking for new places to land. O’Hare, America’s fifth-busiest airfreight hub, has been the U.S. focus for cargo pileup problems. A shortage of staff to handle shipments, as well as drivers to move them, left goods spilling into airport staff parking lots. The ORD disruptions highlight how the broad labor crunch has upset the rhythm of an air cargo industry that carries 30% of the world’s trade by value. Clive Data Services say airfreight volume fell 1.2% from October to November, in what the firm called a “quite remarkable” turn away from usual seasonal patterns. 
 

U.S. home sales grew in November at the highest adjusted annual rate since January. (WSJ)

A measure of consumer confidence in the U.S. rose sharply in December. (WSJ)

The U.S. economy expanded at an upwardly revised annual 2.3% pace in the third quarter. (MarketWatch)

The European Union is moving ahead with plans to implement a global minimum tax rate on corporate profits in 2023 as U.S. action on the measure stalls. (WSJ)

Amazon restored a mask mandate for all workers at its hundreds of U.S. warehouses. (WSJ)

U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell to the lowest level in seven years. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Panasonic and other manufacturers suspended production in Malaysia after flash floods hit a factory region. (Nikkei Asia)

Mining giant Rio Tinto is buying a lithium project in Argentina for $825 million. (Financial Times)

The Baltic Dry Index measuring dry-bulk shipping rates fell to an eight-month low. (TradeWinds)

Indonesian coffee exporters are testing the use of bulk ships to get around container shortages. (American Journal of Transportation)

Georgia’s Port of Savannah is using pop-up container yards to clear space on its docks more quickly. (CBS)

Container imports at Washington state’s small Port of Everett are growing as companies seek paths around bottlenecks. (Journal of Commerce)

Cargill is acquiring most of the industrial chemicals business of UK-based Croda International for $1 billion. (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

Chico's became the first fashion client for Walmart's GoLocal delivery service. (Supply Chain Dive)

Sweden’s EQT sold a portfolio of European logistics properties to an undisclosed buyer for about $3.4 billion. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Local lawmakers approved Amazon’s plan to build a 2.6 million-square-foot distribution center east of Pittsburgh. (WPXI)

J.B. Hunt will pay nearly $10 million in holiday bonuses to truck drivers and other workers. (Insider)

Reverse logistics technology provider Optoro raised $25 million in new backing from investors including Zebra Technologies, eBay and UPS. (DC Velocity)

Candy cane makers have been hurt by a shortage of sugar and other supply-chain snarls this season. (Reuters)

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.