Today's newsletter was written by WSJ Logistics Report's Jennifer Smith.

Hedge funds that bet on shipping when it was in the doldrums are cashing in on global supply-chain bottlenecks. Financial firms including Mangrove Partners and Pilgrim Global are reaping windfalls from investments in the notoriously boom-and-bust container-ship sector, which after nearly a decade of distress is flying high as the global economy rebounds, the WSJ’s Juliet Chung and Costas Paris report. Hedge funds and lenders looking to capitalize on surging demand and tight ocean shipping capacity are flipping container vessels and signing multiyear charter contracts that lock in high rates. Mangrove’s founder assembled a boxship fleet at discount rates in 2017 and 2018, then sold off ships as values rose and charter rates soared. The recovery is turning what looked like losing bets for earlier investors into winning ones, though growing pressure to limit vessel emissions could tarnish some of the sector’s luster.

Auto makers are forging closer ties with semiconductor companies as they realign vehicle supply chains. Ford is striking a deal with GlobalFoundries to bring some chip development in-house, the WSJ’s Mike Colias and Ben Foldy write, while rival General Motors is working with major semiconductor makers including Qualcomm. Shortages and supply-chain disruptions are prompting car companies to exert more control over production of components they see as critical to their future competitiveness, from faster chips that control elements like touch screens to batteries for electric vehicles. GM wants to use a narrower range of microprocessors in its vehicles that it says could be produced at higher volumes with better quality, while Ford says designing its own chips could improve some vehicle features and help the company avoid future shortages. The moves toward vertical integration come as increasingly automated car functions map out a future where “the automobile becomes a computer with tires,” Intel’s CEO says.

A proposed U.S. tax credit for electric vehicles is stirring up disagreement at home and abroad. The provision would give consumers a $12,500 tax write-off for buying electric vehicles assembled by union workers using American-built batteries, but less for those made in nonunion factories. The WSJ’s Julie Bykowicz and Siobhan Hughes report the element in President Biden’s social spending package has sparked fierce lobbying by nonunion auto makers like Tesla and Toyota who say it rewards the United Auto Workers and rival General Motors, which both pushed for a pro-union component, at the expense of the environment. The shift away from combustion engines is a challenge for the UAW because electric vehicles are simpler to build, requiring fewer employees and potentially lower wages. The proposal is also casting a cloud over a trilateral meeting with Canada and Mexico, whose leaders say it could divert auto investment dollars away from their countries.

U.S. jobless claims edged down toward pre-pandemic levels. (WSJ)

High shipping costs could lift global inflation by 1.5% in 2023, a UN report said. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Macy’s is weighing whether to spin off its e-commerce operations. (WSJ)

Prada plans to open more U.S. stores in newer wealth centers like Austin in a bid to boost sales. (WSJ)

Some consumers are dodging higher prices by getting goods for free through online “Buy Nothing” groups. (WSJ)

Intel is shelving a plan to expand its chip-making operations in China by taking over an abandoned factory in Chengdu. (South China Morning Post)

Daimler will produce its first in-house electric motor at a diesel motor manufacturing plant in Berlin. (Reuters)

Victoria’s Secret said supply-chain problems will add as much as $100 million to its fourth-quarter freight and product costs. (Sourcing Journal)

DHL Global Forwarding appointed Tobias Schmidt as chief executive of its European division. (Air Cargo News)

Importers are prioritizing lightweight, pliable items like slippers and ponchos to maximize scarce container capacity. (Washington Post)

Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd wants to reduce its network costs by using fewer hub ports. (The Loadstar)

A.P. Moller-Maersk’s APM Terminals will operate a planned container terminal and intermodal facility in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. (Splash 247)

California will increase weight limits for trucks moving goods from its ports in an effort to ease freight bottlenecks. (Bloomberg)

Amazon ordered 848 Iveco compressed natural gas trucks for its partner-operated fleets in Europe. (Motor Transport)

Convoy is giving freight brokers access to the digital load-matching platform’s network of truckers and carriers. (Fleet Owner)

Amazon is switching to recyclable insulated packaging for chilled and frozen grocery items. (Progressive Grocer)

Startup SVT Robotics raised $25 million to back its software orchestrating robots in warehouses and factories. (VentureBeat)

Canadian Pacific is launching debt offerings in the U.S. and Canada to help fund its acquisition of Kansas City Southern. (Progressive Railroading)

United Natural Foods is offering wages of up to $28 an hour for distribution jobs at a warehouse in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. (Lehigh Valley Live) 

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

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