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Under Rivian and the UAW’s confidential pact, the automaker would adopt a neutral stance toward efforts to organize workers at its Illinois factory where its vehicles are made.

The drama left Johnson huddling with allies in his Capitol office to come up with a Plan B that would keep the government financed and avoid the political pain of a shutdown come Dec. 21.

The Port of Los Angeles is set for its busiest December on record, and the Port of Long Beach is on track to have its best-ever year after the hubs handled an early and sustained peak season.

Volkswagen Group will spend C$69 million ($48.1 million) on a 9.9% stake in lithium miner Patriot Battery Metals to secure raw materials for electric vehicles.

DETROIT — U.S. auto safety regulators have backed away from seeking a giant recall of nearly 50 million air bag inflators and will investigate further after auto industry comments.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Dec. 18 by a quarter-point — its third cut this year — but also signaled that it expects to reduce rates more slowly next year.

XIAMEN, China — The world’s largest maker of batteries for electric vehicles said Dec. 18 it will get into battery swapping in China in a big way starting next year.

Ryder System promoted Chief Financial Officer John Diez to president and chief operating officer effective Jan. 1, the Miami-based company said.

Analysts are betting that further market-share gains and increased profit contributions from Walmart’s higher-margin ancillary businesses will extend the stock’s rally.

Housing starts decreased 1.8% to an annualized rate of 1.29 million, the slowest since July, according to government data released Dec. 18. The metric can help project the flatbed sector.