CHICAGO — Since as early as 1848, some 12 years before the Civil War, Chicago has been a major center for transportation given its central location in the country, access to newly built railroad lines and the five Great Lakes. Now, more than 170 years later, millions of products pass through its massive transportation network for trucks, rail and air each day.

Supply chain activity in the U.S. picked up for the first time since March, buoyed by elevated inventories even as transportation costs slid for a sixth straight month.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. is expanding its transload strategy with new operations in Tacoma, Wash., and Laredo, Texas, the company announced Oct. 3.

Werner Enterprises Inc. said it is acquiring Baylor Trucking, a move that expands its truckload operations.

With a threatened railroad strike in the rearview mirror, BNSF Railway is hauling out a $1.5 billion plan for a new rail facility in Southern California that it says will relieve congestion around the critical ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

AUSTIN, Texas — Tesla’s sales rose 35% in the July-September period compared to the second quarter as the company’s huge factory in China got past supply chain issues and pandemic restrictions.

Major ports and rail facilities across the U.S. Southeast have halted operations as one of the strongest hurricanes to ever hit the country advances as a tropical storm, causing disruptions along the way and resulting in another blow for already strained supply chains.

Werner Enterprises has partnered with the driverless trucking technology company Kodiak Robotics to establish an autonomous trucking lane, the companies announced Sept. 29.

Clean Energy Fuels Corp. announced Amazon.com Inc. will fuel trucks with renewable natural gas at the company’s public access station in Groveport, Ohio, as the two begin a larger partnership.

Sustainability is increasingly becoming a priority among supply chain leaders because of technology and turbulent economic conditions.