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UPS Inc. began shipping out its first batch of Johnson & Johnson vaccines March 2, now that the single-dose vaccine for the coronavirus has emergency use authorization.

UPS Inc. and FedEx Corp. are ramping up vaccine distribution, with plans for additional gains if Johnson & Johnson’s inoculation is cleared by U.S. regulators.

WASHINGTON — Extreme winter weather has dealt the first major setback to the Biden administration’s planned swift rollout of coronavirus vaccines, delaying shipment of three days’ worth of shots, or about 6 million doses.

A trade war with China and the disruptive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have U.S. companies starting to question a decades-old strategy of shifting manufacturing operations to low-cost labor markets in China and other Asian nations.

Initial shipments of the second COVID-19 vaccine authorized in the U.S. left a distribution center Dec. 20, a desperately needed boost as the nation works to bring the coronavirus pandemic under control.

As the first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine begin to ship, trucking experts on the ground level of the distribution effort said the logistical elements are in place for a successful rollout of an estimated 50 million doses of the vaccine between now and the end of January.

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The first shipments of a COVID-19 vaccine for widespread use in the United States headed Dec. 13 from Michigan to distribution centers across the country, with the first shots expected to be given in the coming week to health care workers and at nursing homes.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told a congressional oversight committee that the federal government has made money on a $700 million loan it extended to YRC Worldwide under a coronavirus relief package for businesses that were deemed essential in fighting the pandemic.

Two of the country’s largest freight firms reassured federal lawmakers of their preparedness in helping to deliver COVID-19 vaccines as early as this month.

UPS Inc. said it has the capacity to handle the rollout of coronavirus vaccines and an unprecedented holiday package rush this month after investments in automation, tracking technology and dry-ice production.