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WASHINGTON — Under Chair Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve is poised this week to execute a sharp turn toward tighter interest rate policies with inflation accelerating and unemployment falling faster than expected.

Near-shoring is one of the biggest economic transformations sparked by the pandemic: Shrink the length of the supply chain to keep production closer to its final destination and reduce the risk of some snag messing things up along the way.

WASHINGTON — Prices at the wholesale level surged by a record 9.6% in November from a year earlier, an indication of ongoing inflation pressures.

The Biden administration on Dec. 13 released a federal strategy to build 500,000 charging stations for electric vehicles across the country and bring down the cost of electric cars with the goal of transforming the U.S. auto industry.

The head of the nation’s second-largest bank said consumers are spending “at a faster rate” than he has ever seen, but he remains concerned about how inflation and supply chain issues will influence the economy going into the winter.

The first major update of U.S. international ocean-shipping laws in more than two decades, which passed in the House this week, will help boost transparency in the industry if passed by the Senate, the head of the Port of Los Angeles said.

U.S. consumer prices rose last month at the fastest annual pace in nearly 40 years, magnifying how rapid and persistent inflation is eroding paychecks and increasing pressure on the Federal Reserve to tighten monetary policy.

The potential harm that a proposed federal vaccine mandate could have on trucking was spotlighted by an industry executive who outlined for lawmakers key challenges facing motor carriers as they work to deliver goods across an increasingly stressed supply chain.

Applications for U.S. state unemployment benefits declined last week to the lowest level since 1969, illustrating difficulties adjusting the raw data for seasonal effects.

A rosy supply chain arriving this holiday season to release handcuffed truck makers and reward fleets awaiting new trucks would certainly be a great gift to the industry — well, maybe next year.