Logistics technology startups are cutting workers again in a bid to survive. Freight forwarder Flexport, digital broker Uber Freight and warehousing provider Flexe are starting 2024 laying off employees. The WSJ Logistics Report writes that the startups are being squeezed by weak freight volumes, high interest rates and a pull back in venture funding. Venture-capital investments in supply-chain technology startups fell to $780 million in the fourth quarter of last year, down from $5.2 billion in the same quarter two years earlier, according to PitchBook Data. The layoffs at Flexport and at Flexe are the second rounds of cuts in less than six months. The pressure to cut costs isn’t only coming from CEOs and investors. Matt Elenjickal, founder of FourKites, said customers are asking to see balance sheets to make sure the companies they do business with are “financially stable.”

• Flexport is planning to cut nearly 20% of its staff, or about 500 people. (WSJ)

The Biden administration is speeding up domestic production of advanced microchips for artificial intelligence and weapons systems. Officials are preparing to announce billions of dollars for semiconductor companies such as Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to build factories in the U.S. The WSJ’s Yuka Hayashi reports that the administration has been slow to make awards since the 2022 passage of the Chips Act that identified $53 billion for semiconductor manufacturing. Now, it wants to accelerate the grants to showcase President Biden’s economic achievements in a presidential election year. Intel and TSMC already have factory projects underway in Arizona and Ohio, two battleground states. But chip manufacturers are running into delays because of stringent workforce and national security requirements. Lawmakers and some officials worry that even after awards are made, permitting and other hurdles could delay the time it takes for factories to start delivering the chips.

• Europe's top chipmaker Infineon is ramping up hiring in India and Vietnam. (Nikkei Asia)

Inflation remained mostly subdued in December. (WSJ)

Germany’s consumer confidence looks set to slump in February. (WSJ)

Forward Air is moving ahead with its stalled Omni Logistics deal, but acrimony remains. (WSJ)

Signs are emerging that 2024 won’t be the big year electric-vehicle manufacturers had hoped for as sales growth slows. (WSJ) 

JetBlue Airways warned it could terminate its attempted takeover of Spirit Airlines after a federal judge blocked their planned merger. (WSJ)

The Biden administration effectively froze the approval process for new plants to export U.S. liquefied natural gas. (WSJ)

Houthi rebels launched missiles at a U.S. destroyer and hit a British fuel tanker. (WSJ)

A merchant ship exchanged fire with suspected Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean. (TradeWinds)

Norfolk Southern's fourth-quarter operating income fell, weighed down by a $150 million charge from last year's derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. (Dow Jones Newswires)

One year after the East Palestine derailment, accidents have increased across the freight rail industry. (New York Times)

More than a dozen companies plan to close U.S. warehouses this year. (Supply Chain Dive)

The Port of Rotterdam opened its first charging station for electric trucks. (American Journal of Transportation)

Orsted has pulled out of an offshore wind project in Maryland. (Baltimore Sun)

Police in Spokane, Wash., face a shortage of Police Interceptor Utility SUVs because of manufacturing delays at Ford Motor. (The Spokesman-Review)

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.