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Oil Drawdowns Strain U.S. Reserves; VW Might Cut 50,000 More Jobs By Mark R. Long | WSJ Logistics Report
The U.S. is tapping in to its national stocks of crude oil with abandon. The withdrawals are taking a toll on the strategic reserve system , The Wall Street Journal's Benoît Morenne writes.
The Biden and Trump administrations have ordered the largest releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to tamp down soaring oil prices-a total of 352 million barrels, or nearly half the capacity of the stocks. Those frequent drawdowns, wear-and-tear and a lack of investments are straining the reserve, according to experts.
The 60 Gulf Coast salt caverns that make up the stocks can't be drawn from or refilled at the rate at which they were designed, federal researchers found. Equipment failures have bedeviled the reserve's managers. At one point, a well broke and caused the loss of hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude.
The current release of 172 million barrels, authorized by Trump
in March, is expected to further stress the facilities. Stocks in the reserves have fallen to their lowest levels since 1983.
Trump said he was reimposing the U.S. blockade
on Iranian shipping, asserting that the Strait of Hormuz remains open under American protection and that the U.S. would charge 20% of every cargo shipment as compensation for its costs. (WSJ) The U.S. on Monday launched its third consecutive night of strikes
on Iran following Trump's announcement of a multiday wave of attacks. (WSJ) Confirmed traffic through the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend fell by more than half
from the previous weekend to just 19 ships, according to Kpler. (WSJ) The United Arab Emirates boosted crude output by 80%
in June to 3.81 million barrels a day after leaving the OPEC to escape production quotas. (WSJ) OPEC further lowered its global oil-demand growth forecast
for this year, saying it now expects demand to grow by 780,000 barrels a day, down from 970,000 barrels a day previously. (WSJ) Port operator DP World is planning to build a new port on the UAE's east coast to reduce dependence on the Jebel Ali hub and bypass the Strait of Hormuz . (Financial Times) CONTENT FROM: PENSKE Gain the Big Picture. Gain Ground With Penske Logistics.
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Number of the Day Automakers
Volkswagen said it might have to cut 50,000 more jobs in the world's second-biggest automaker's renewed drive to bring costs into line
with those of its rivals.
In an internal memo, CEO Oliver Blume said Volkswagen was evaluating possible workforce adjustments
across its various brands and regional units. Blume also said he couldn't guarantee the future of four German plants, the Journal's Stephen Wilmot writes. Last week, Volkswagen said it wanted to cut its lineup of cars by as much as a half and further reduce capacity.
Jeep maker Stellantis reported an estimated 10% increase
in second-quarter global vehicle shipments to around 1.6 million units. (WSJ) Construction
With Americans up in arms over data centers, a small number of builders are on a mission to ensure they don't have to be eyesores , the WSJ's Will Parker writes.
Architecture firm Gensler is drawing up plans for data centers that look more like Silicon Valley tech campuses or art museums, rather than windowless rectangles. The strategy can entail making these often blank-faced barns for computer servers look more organic to the local surroundings. Landscapers are ringing data centers with plants and trees to create buffers between the properties and residential communities. They are also mixing in parks and walking trails.
Self-storage, another warehouse-type property, has also tried to overcome an ugliness factor. Developers of those buildings began adding false windows, doors and landscaping to make them more palatable and human-feeling. Even with these improvements, some local governments have simply had enough storage.
Meta Platforms scaled up its Northeast Louisiana data-center project to five gigawatts of capacity, with costs now exceeding $50 billion . (WSJ) Gov. Kathy Hochul is banning large data-center construction
in New York State for up to a year. (WSJ) Quotable In Other News Intel plans to invest $5.71 billion to expand its manufacturing site in Ireland
to help meet growing demand for AI and high-performance chips. (WSJ) Nippon Paint Holdings made an $8.6 billion bid
to buy AkzoNobel's decorative-paints business. (WSJ) Water levels on the river Rhine have been tracking below levels seen in 2018 and 2022, when shipping faced severe disruption , according to Deutsche Bank's Marc Schattenberg. (WSJ) The Port of Houston is planning a third container terminal
that would triple the port's capacity as it continues the $2 billion development of its two existing terminals. (Journal of Commerce) The Ports of Indiana was awarded a $25 million federal BUILD grant for the $32 million expansion of its Jeffersonville port . (SupplyChain24/7) The Port of Los Angeles is offering up to $300,000 per vehicle as an incentive to licensed motor carriers to buy battery-electric Class 8 drayage trucks . (DC Velocity) Refunds for tariffs ruled illegal by the Supreme Court caused the first widening of the U.S. federal budget deficit
since the start of the current fiscal year. (Bloomberg) The U.S. is now the top source of helium
for Japan, South Korea and Taiwan amid the Iran war and Chinese restrictions on exports of the gas used to make chips. (Nikkei Asia) About Us
Mark R. Long is editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Reach him at [mark.long@wsj.com]. Follow the WSJ Logistics Report team on LinkedIn: Mark R. Long , Liz Young and Paul Berger .
This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 14, 2026 07:02 ET (11:02 GMT)
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