While Chinese ports are close to recovering, transit times to the United States have remained elevated, according to supply chain visibility company FourKites.

Efforts by national freight rail carriers to increase efficiency are having the opposite effect, a union official said July 12. Demoralized workers are leaving the industry, causing delays and damage to the national supply chain, said Greg Regan, president of the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO.

Online spending in the U.S. rose 8.5% to $11.9 billion during Amazon.com Inc.’s two-day Prime Day promotion, according to Adobe Inc., helping boost traffic on competing sites such as Walmart.com and Target.com that held their own sales.

The new federal port envoy said he is “very optimistic” about the progress being made to unkink the nation’s seaports and supply chain.

The White House is monitoring labor talks in the logistics industry as unions representing 115,000 rail workers and 22,000 West Coast dockworkers negotiate fresh contracts, but won’t get directly involved in either bargaining process now, its supply chain envoy said.

Truckers servicing the California port gateways of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland staged protests July 13 as state-level labor rules that change their employment status begin to go into effect, creating another potential choke point in stressed U.S. supply chains.

Cookeville, Tenn.-based Averitt Express announced July 13 it was raising pay for its less-than-truckload drivers as well as providing a new guaranteed weekly minimum for its regional and flatbed drivers and a shorter waiting period in receiving benefits coverage for its new hires.

Transpacific shipping costs have fallen by 53% in the past three months.

U.S. inflation accelerated in June by more than forecast, underscoring relentless price pressures that will keep the Federal Reserve on track for another big interest-rate hike later in July.

An Interstate 81 coalition wants to form a multistate team to apply for federal funds to improve truck parking following a recent roundtable discussion with six states about inadequate spaces along the vital eastern U.S. freight corridor.