The pandemic is rushing back into Asia-based supply chains. A fresh wave of Covid-19 clusters in Asia is creating new bottlenecks from Southern China ports to semiconductor factories in Taiwan and Malaysia. The disruptions come just as Western economies are roaring back to life, and the WSJ’s Stella Yifan Xie, Costas Paris and Stephanie Yang report they are pushing up prices for goods and transportation and raising concerns they could undercut the global recovery. Dozens of vessels are backed up off the Yantian port in Shenzhen, straining fragile shipping operations that have been battered by a persistent empty container shortage and a continuing bottleneck at U.S. West Coast ports. Shipping prices are soaring, and logistics operators say desperate American importers are paying well beyond even the listed spot rates. Executives say the backup is worse than the Suez Canal blockage, and will take longer to clear.

Europe is preparing environmental legislation that is already sending shock waves through the world’s supply chains. The plan would jolt the rules of international trade by taxing imported goods based on the greenhouse gases emitted to make them. The WSJ’s Matthew Dalton reports the proposal would open up a new front in the fight against climate change by setting the world’s first limits on carbon in traded goods. The bloc says it wants to stop polluting industries from shifting production outside Europe and then exporting back into the EU. Experts say it adds urgency to manufacturers’ efforts to pull carbon out of their supply chains. The proposal is also looming as a maritime regulatory panel is meeting to consider new measures aimed at cutting shipping’s carbon emissions. International Maritime Organization chief Kitack Lim opened the meeting saying the business runs “the risk of having unilateral or multilateral initiatives" without action.

Record-high steel prices aren’t convincing steelmakers to put shuttered older mills back into operation. United States Steel and Cleveland-Cliffs are keeping about seven million tons of production capacity out of service, the WSJ’s Bob Tita reports, saying the high cost of restarting the plants along with competitive threats make the mills a poor financial proposition. The idled capacity amounts to roughly a tenth of U.S. domestic consumption in 2019, and the closures are exacerbating a shortage of steel that is contributing to higher prices for cars, appliances and machinery. The decisions are the latest signs of caution across the industrial world among companies that remain wary of restoring capacity after facing pandemic-driven demand shocks over the past year. That’s proving tough on buyers as new mills are still months or years away from operating even as growing consumer demand has factories pressing for more steel.

U.S. consumer prices surged in May at the fastest pace in nearly 13 years. (WSJ)

Weekly initial U.S. jobless claims fell to a fresh pandemic low. (WSJ)

The European Central Bank upgraded its economic outlook for the eurozone but will keep its aggressive monetary stimulus in place. (WSJ)

OPEC expects a rebound in global oil demand to accelerate this year as the world burns through a crude supply glut. (WSJ)

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators say they have an agreement on infrastructure that would be paid for without tax increases. (WSJ)

Trucker Yellow told lawmakers its application for and use of Covid relief funds was “completely appropriate... and in full compliance with the loan agreements.” (Dow Jones Newswires)

Waymo and J.B. Hunt Transport will test freight delivery with self-driving truck runs between Houston and Fort Worth, Texas. (Dow Jones Newswires)

A European Union regulator is proposing a fine of more than $425 million against Amazon under the bloc’s privacy law. (WSJ)

Peugeot and Citroën became the latest automakers to face preliminary charges in France on suspicion of emissions fraud. (WSJ)

The Biden administration lifted sanctions on more than a dozen former Iranian officials and energy firms. (WSJ)

Starbucks is running short of basics like cups and coffee syrup in some stores as it returns to full operations. (WSJ)

Uganda’s coffee production has risen strongly to a record high. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Pepsico Foods says an extensive private-fleet operation has been an advantage for its Frito-Lay business during the pandemic. (Transport Dive)

Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding plans to develop self-driving trucks with its Cainiao logistics affiliate. (Reuters)

Convoys of Iranian tankers are operating services suspected of delivering crude to a Syrian refinery. (Lloyd’s List)

Japan’s Namura Shipbuilding and NS United Naiun Kaisha are designing a bulk carrier with retractable sails. (Ship & Bunker)

Chinese e-commerce retailer JD.com launched its first cargo flight between China and the U.S. (Post & Parcel)

Amazon is building a five-story, 3.5 million-square-foot fulfillment center near the Colorado Springs, Col., airport. (Colorado Springs Gazette)

Cold-storage heavyweight Lineage Logistics acquired European temperature-controlled provider Kloosterboer Group. (DC Velocity)

XPO Logistics set the spinoff of GXO Logistics for the third quarter. (The Loadstar)

Transportation technology provider Transporeon acquired freight procurement automation specialist TNX Logistics. (Journal of Commerce)

Connecticut is imposing a mileage tax on heavy-duty trucks using state roads. (Commercial Carrier Journal)

Washington state residents say container ships anchored in Puget Sound​ because of port backlogs are a “nuisance.”  (KING-TV)

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.