It looks like Christmas will arrive on time this year, at least as far as parcel carriers are concerned. Delivery networks have mostly held up during the first major test of the peak shipping season, the WSJ’s Paul Ziobro reports, as earlier shopping and increased in-store purchases have eased fears of more late-year congestion. Numbers from parcel analytics group ShipMatrix show United Parcel Service and the U.S. Postal Service have improved their on-time delivery over last year while FedEx lags behind last year’s measures but has improved from recent quarters. It hasn’t been entirely smooth: regional carriers are warning of delays and some large retailers such as Target are telling customers online orders may take another day or two to arrive. But broader market forces are helping package carriers. Consumer awareness of supply-chain issues and product shortages spurred earlier shopping, effectively spreading out the peak season.

High demand for lithium has the market for the metal careening out of control. Lithium prices are rising at their fastest pace in years, the WSJ’s Amrith Ramkumar reports, setting off a race to secure supplies and fueling worries about long-term shortages of a vital ingredient in rechargeable batteries. One benchmark price measure is up some 240% this year. The surge comes even though there is plenty of lithium in the world, at least for now. The run-up is based on bets on scarcity in the metal, with demand getting a boost from the growth in electric-vehicle manufacturing. At the same time, new supply sources have been constrained by limited investment in new projects amid supply-chain bottlenecks and rising raw materials prices. The rally is roiling purchasing markets, stoking fears that battery manufacturers and auto makers may not be able to obtain enough material to meet electric-vehicle demand.

RJ Scaringe hasn’t taken a traditional path into transportation , and he may end up changing the industry to match his vision. The entrepreneur and his electric-vehicle maker Rivian Automotive represent a direct challenge to Detroit’s auto giants, the WSJ’s Ben Foldy writes, and the startup’s highly successful initial public offering highlights the high stakes Mr. Scaringe’s ambitions have for his business and his competitors. Rivian’s backers include Amazon as both an investor and customer, with the giant e-retailer leading a $700 million funding round and later ordering 100,000 electric delivery vans that it would develop with Rivian. His challenge now is to keep pace with the expectations of investors and customers while ramping up production, launching new vehicle models that include a parcel delivery van and building out Rivian’s own sales-and-service operation.

OPEC left mostly unchanged its global oil demand and supply forecasts for this year and next. (WSJ)

Federal safety regulators opened an investigation into the collapse of an Amazon warehouse in a tornado that killed six people. (WSJ)

Amazon warehouse workers say the company’s ban on cell phones prevents them from getting emergency warnings such as the alerts before the deadly storm that collapsed a facility. (Bloomberg)

The European Union is preparing to veto South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries' proposed acquisition of rival Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. (Reuters)

South Korea plans to seek membership in the sprawling Asia-Pacific free trade deal known as CPTPP. (Japan Times)

Volvo Cars and startup Northvolt are seeking to take their $3 billion electric-vehicle battery partnership to the U.S. and Asia. (Financial Times)

Ryder System is bolstering its e-commerce operations with the acquisition of retail fulfillment and logistics provider Whiplash in a $480 million cash deal. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Experts say the increasing size of container ships has contributed to supply-chain logjams in the U.S. (Wired)

China’s Ningbo port is tightening Covid-19 restrictions for truckers at the major export hub. (Lloyd’s List)

Clarksons Platou projects the car-carrier sector will rebound with 9% growth in volumes next year. (ShippingWatch)

Dry-bulk shipping company Taylor Maritime Investments stepped up its stake in Grindrod Shipping Holdings to nearly 25%. (MarketWatch)

The Port of New Orleans took delivery of four gantry cranes capable of handling larger container ships. (New Orleans Times-Picayune)

Softbank-backed warehouse robotics business Symbotic will go public through a merger with a blank-check company. (The Robot Report)

Klearnow raised $50 million in a Series B funding round backing its technology providing visibility to customs and port trucking operations. (Journal of Commerce)

Japan’s Nippon Steel is preparing to acquire two electric-furnace steelmakers in Thailand. (Nikkei Asia)

UPS CEO Carol Tomé says the company sought her because it wanted someone who understands "the changing and competitive customer environment.” (Fortune)

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.