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The cost to ship a boxload of goods to the U.S. from China edged close to $10,000 as the world’s biggest economy keeps vacuuming up imports amid slower recoveries from the pandemic from Europe to Asia.

If it seems like shipping delays and soaring delivery costs aren’t getting any better, it’s because by some metrics they’re both getting worse.

The top U.S. maritime regulator said stretched global supply chains pushing ocean-freight rates to record highs may stay strained into 2022, raising concerns about whether small American companies can weather another year of a tangled transport system and much higher costs.

The cost to move goods in a shipping container to Europe from Asia shot above $10,000 for the first time on record, an index showed, underscoring the pain inflicted on exporters and importers struggling with stretched supply chains.

Ship congestion outside the busiest U.S. gateway for trade with Asia eased over the past week, with the number of container vessels waiting to enter the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach staying below 20 for five straight days.

Robust demand for shipping goods across the world’s oceans shows no signs of slowing down, the chief executive of Germany’s largest container carrier said, signaling that elevated rates in the tight market for seaborne cargo may extend into the second half of the year.

After carrying the weight of the global economy since World War II with little fanfare, the lowly shipping pallet is finally commanding some respect.

The challenge of ensuring equitable distribution of the coronavirus vaccine is one of global scale, and the city of Miami provides a backdrop for the social and economic divides that the medical community must overcome.

Ship congestion outside the biggest U.S. gateway for Asian imports worsened from a week ago, highlighting a headwind facing American companies just as a pileup around the Suez Canal had threatened to tangle Europe’s supply chains.

U.S. regulators stepped up the heat on ocean shipping companies and the seaport terminals some of them operate, seeking to smooth the disrupted flow of containers that are swamping America’s biggest ports and wreaking havoc on the nation’s strained supply chains.