The only way is up for global ocean shipping costs as Houthi rebels continue attacks in and around the Red Sea. Average worldwide prices for shipping a 40-foot container rose 23% in the week through Jan. 18 to $3,777, according to London-based Drewry Shipping Consultants, more than doubling in the past month. The WSJ Logistics Report’s Paul Berger writes that the price increases and delays caused by disruptions at a transit point for the Suez Canal are mostly affecting trade between Asia and Europe. But the higher costs are reaching the U.S. West Coast too. Spot-market rates to ship a container from China to Los Angeles rose 38% in the week through Jan. 18 to $3,860. Retailers say they were prepared for disruptions this year and shipping delays aren’t causing shortages for now. But shippers of some time-sensitive products are starting to shift to air.

• China is calling on “all relevant parties” to assure safety for vessels in the Red Sea. (Financial Times)

The biggest commercial truck and engine builders in the U.S. are betting truckers are ready to swap diesel for electric power. Diesel engine maker Cummins and truck builders Daimler Truck and Paccar are planning to build a $2 billion factory in Mississippi that would be the nation’s largest plant dedicated to batteries for commercial vehicles. The WSJ’s Bob Tita reports that the companies are placing a wager that demand for electric big rigs will grow as federal and state regulators push truckers to buy more of the vehicles. While electric trucks have been available for years, trucking operators have been slow to invest in the vehicles because of concerns about cost and durability and a lack of battery-charging infrastructure to support trucks on long-haul treks. A Daimler executive said the new factory will help lower the overall cost of the vehicles and in turn spur further adoption.

• Ford Motor is slashing production of its F-150 Lightning electric pickup. (WSJ)
• Tesla plans to open a regional distribution center in Fountain Inn, S.C. (Greenville News)
• Autonomous driving company Waymo is seeking permission to expand its driverless service in Los Angeles. (Reuters)

Consumer sentiment surged 29% since November, the biggest two-month increase since 1991. (WSJ)

Home sales last year dropped to the lowest level in nearly three decades. (WSJ)

Ukraine hit a Russian fuel terminal on the Baltic Sea in one of its longest-range strikes yet. (WSJ)

Some U.S. power companies are rushing to get out of offshore wind investments. (WSJ)

Technology companies are trying to fix one of the biggest headaches for delivery services and gig couriers—how to find the right apartment quickly. (WSJ)

Online furniture seller Wayfair is laying off 13% of its employees. (WSJ)

Walmart is closing a business unit it created to spur innovation. (WSJ)

Freight forwarder Flexport raised $260 million from e-commerce service provider Shopify. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Inspections and regulatory scrutiny could further slow Boeing’s output this year. (WSJ)

A Boeing 747 cargo plane operated by Atlas Air made an emergency landing at Miami International Airport shortly after takeoff. (Associated Press)

Amazon Web Services plans to invest about $15 billion in Japan. (CNBC)

Chinese warehouse robot startups are targeting Japan as a testing ground ahead of domestic growth. (Nikkei Asia)

CMA CGM is buying British logistics firm Wincanton for about $700 million. (Hellenic Shipping News)

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administrator Robin Hutcheson is stepping down. (Trucking Dive)

OpenAI is raising billions of dollars to build a global network of semiconductor plants. (Bloomberg)

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

Follow the WSJ Logistics Report team: @PaulPage, @bylizyoung and @pdberger. Follow the WSJ Logistics Report on X at @WSJLogistics.