Competition among container lines for logistics business is increasingly running through port terminals. France’s CMA CGM says the recent purchase of two container terminals at the Port of New York and New Jersey is central to its efforts to build more inland transport trade. Executive Christine Cabau Woehrel tells the WSJ Logistics Report’s Paul Berger that owning the landside sites will help the ship operator manage cargo distribution more efficiently. CMA CGM already has a big ports division, but the new acquisition on the East Coast gives the company big facilities to complement its operation at the Port of Los Angeles. It also puts the carrier on closer footing in the U.S. with rival Maersk Line and its sister company APM Terminals. Both companies and other major shipping lines are buying into ports. The expansion plans suggest the carriers aren’t willing to wait for others to expand the sites.

• Combined loaded container imports at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach fell 26% last month to the lowest level since March 2020. (Dow Jones Newswires)
• Loaded container imports into Georgia’s Port of Savannah fell 7% in November from last year and 17% from October. (Statesboro Herald)
• Mediterranean Shipping and Ports America will work with Louisiana to build a $1.8 billion container terminal at the Port of New Orleans. (Maritime Executive)
• Sudan will establish a container port on the Red Sea under a $6 billion plan led by AD Ports and Invictus Investment. (Port Technology)

Store-label products are elbowing out big brand names on supermarket shelves. Grocery chains are expanding their cheaper, high-margin store brands as inflation pushes more consumers to cut costs. The WSJ’s Trefor Moss reports big operators including Kroger and Walmart in the U.S. and Carrefour in Europe are expanding their in-house offerings across more price points and product categories, investments that will shift the flow of goods across grocery supply chains. Supermarkets typically make a higher profit margin on private-label goods than they do from selling branded products from heavyweight suppliers like Kraft Heinz and Unilever. French chain Carrefour says private-label products have become “the heart of our business model” as consumers trade down from costlier brands. The growth of German discounters Aldi and Lidl, where in-house products outnumber branded goods by about four to one, has also underscored the mass appeal of affordable alternatives.

• Higher inventory helped Zara parent Inditex increase sales 19% in the last quarter. (WSJ)

Amazon’s robotics unit is facing a suit by a supplier over the abrupt turns in business during the pandemic. Vietnamese warehouse equipment manufacturer, Gilimex, claims the e-commerce giant breached agreements on production and purchasing as it adjusted to the rapid swings in online sales over the past two years. The WSJ Logistics Report’s Liz Young writes the claim in a New York court case follows a period in which tensions between buyers and their suppliers have been rising, triggered by the upheaval in business as companies sought to adjust to a fast-changing and uncertain economic environment. Gilimex makes containers for use in automated warehouses. It says in its lawsuit that it sharply expanded its operations to accommodate Amazon, and even cut ties with other large retail customers. But it says Amazon with little notice cut back orders this year. Amazon had no immediate comment on the suit. 

The U.S. Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate 0.5 percentage point. (WSJ)

The cost of imported goods in the U.S. fell in November for the fifth straight month. (MarketWatch)

Eurozone factory output declined 2% in October. (Dow Jones Newswires)

The U.K.’s annual rate of consumer inflation fell in November. (WSJ)

The International Energy Agency says Europe’s energy crisis and economic resilience among major Asian economies are boosting demand for oil as a heat source. (WSJ)

Microsoft’s climate innovation fund is investing in a battery startup that is trying to dramatically improve power and charging time of electric vehicles. (WSJ)

Battery-recycling startup Redwood Materials plans to build a second factory in South Carolina. (WSJ)

Delta Air Lines lifted its fourth-quarter outlook on strong demand for air travel to close out the year. (WSJ)

Barclays says British manufacturers are sitting on some $29 billion in unfinished goods because of persistent supply shortages. (Bloomberg)

Toyota will use wind turbines to power one of its plants in central Japan. (Nikkei Asia)

Scorpio Tankers expects product tanker shipping rates to reach “extraordinary, outstanding levels.” (Lloyd’s List)

South Korean flagship HMM is seeking to buy nine mid-sized, methanol-powered container ships. (The Loadstar)

Container ship owner Seaspan gave bondholders a “best and final offer” to avoid having to buy back $300 million in notes due in 2026. (TradeWinds)

Claims of sexual harassment and misconduct, homophobia, transphobia and racism have roiled California State University's Maritime Academy. (Los Angeles Times)

Airfreight rates are falling at a double-digit pace on an annual basis. (Supply Chain Dive)

Amazon is pushing back start dates for some new hires to keep its headcount down. (The Information)

Developers completed a 1.1-million-square-foot speculative distribution center at a growing logistics complex outside Columbus, Ohio. (Business Journals)

Kenyan business-to-business supply-chain software startup Leta raised $3 million in a pre-seed funding round. (TechCrunch)

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 Twitter at @WSJLogistics.