A major transit point for commerce is now adding to stresses on U.S. supply chains. The emergency closure of the Interstate-40 bridge across the Mississippi River has jammed traffic for over a month, the WSJ’s Scott Calvert reports, while diverting thousands of freight haulers and costing the trucking industry millions of dollars a day. The crack that forced the bridge’s closure on May 11 highlights the perils of aging infrastructure across the U.S. as lawmakers in Washington debate a multibillion-dollar package to fund maintenance and expansion. In the meantime, the Memphis bottleneck is complicating efforts to keep truck drivers within hours-of-service restrictions and the Arkansas Trucking Association says delays and longer trips are costing the trucking industry some $2 million a day. The closure has touched Memphis-based FedEx beyond forcing truck diversions since many of its workers now face significant commuting delays.

New technology is reaching freight operations where the rubber hits the road. Goodyear Tire & Rubber and Bridgestone are rolling out an intelligent tire for package-delivery vans, the WSJ’s Sara Castellanos reports, in hopes that artificial intelligence and sensors embedded in the products can help cut costs and keep more vehicles on the road. The technology is geared toward vehicles that specialize in last-mile delivery, the burgeoning part of the package business that is the focus of tough competition as businesses rush to deliver e-commerce orders faster and more efficiently. The idea behind the technology called SightLine is to closely monitor equipment and predict the need to replace or repair tires. It’s the latest example of new technology that is reaching into physical trucks to keep operations moving at a predictable pace. Goodyear says its parcel product is more sophisticated than the tires the company sells to trucking companies.

Online grocer Boxed is hoping investors haven’t lost their appetite for grocery delivery. The business plans to become the latest to go public through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company. The WSJ’s Jinjoo Lee writes in a Heard on the Street column that Boxed wants investors to see it as a technology company rather than simply a courier that delivers groceries out of its own fulfillment centers. Boxed’s automation technology is aimed at keeping down operating costs and the business also markets its software separately, creating another revenue stream. But the company is shipping into a tough market, with revenue that grew only 8% over a year that included a pandemic-driven rush toward online grocery delivery. Boxed is aiming at a niche by selling in bulk to shoppers in rural areas. But delivering to far-flung customers is expensive, a problem that would only grow as the company expands.

U.S. worker filings for initial unemployment benefits rose last week for the first time since late April. (WSJ)

Financially-troubled Lordstown Motors says its vehicle-purchase agreements with fleet management companies aren’t binding orders. (WSJ)

Same store sales at grocery chain Kroger fell 4.1% last quarter but were up 10.9% over the same period in 2019. (WSJ)

Top agricultural traders say the commodities sector is at the start of a “mini-supercycle” marked by high prices for several years. (Financial Times)

Shipping lines are canceling growing numbers of sailings through major southern China ports as the backlog of ships offshore is starting to slip. (Lloyd’s List)

Growing numbers of container carriers are diverting ships from heavily-congested gateways in Europe. (The Loadstar)

Container exports from major Chinese ports fell 1.6% in early June. (Seatrade Maritime)

The burned and sunken X-Press Pearl appears to be leaking oil and its owners say they may not be able to salvage the container ship for several months. (Port Technology)

Fleet-management technology company KeepTruckin’ raised $190 million in a funding round valuing the fleet-management technology company at $2.3 billion. (Bloomberg)

Electric-truck maker Workhorse is suing the U.S. Postal Service to halt a $6 billion contract​ for delivery trucks to Oshkosh Defense. (Washington Post)

The TradeLens shipping visibility platform launched by Maersk Line and IBM expanded into China. (DC Velocity)

Amazon is building a multi-story distribution center near Honolulu Harbor that will be its first in Hawaii. (Business Journals)

Hong Kong Airlines will ground most of its fleet and fly only eight A330 jets for cargo and limited passenger service as it goes into “critical survival mode.” (Air Cargo News)

The London NHS Trust health care service will work with Ceva Logistics and other companies on a riverboat delivery operation. (Motor Transport)

About 72% of logistics executives in a survey said the pandemic has had a major impact on their supply chains. (Logistics Management)

Some shippers are reporting that pallets are in short supply. (WVTF)

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

Follow the WSJ Logistics Report team: @PaulPage, @jensmithWSJ, @CostasParis. Follow the WSJ Logistics Report on Twitter at @WSJLogistics.