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Big meatpacking companies that have struggled to keep plants running during the coronavirus crisis said April 29 that they welcomed President Donald Trump’s executive order requiring them to stay open, but unions, some employees and Democrats questioned whether workers could be kept safe.

UPS Inc. on April 28 reported an increase in first-quarter revenue but said the COVID-19 pandemic caused a shift in its business mix that affected its bottom line result.

President Donald Trump will sign an executive order April 28 meant to stave off a shortage of chicken, pork and other meat on American supermarket shelves because of the coronavirus.

The mass culling of America’s hog herd is starting as a wave of shutdowns at processing plants creates livestock gluts that farmers can no longer sustain.

China Merchants Group Ltd. is exploring taking China Merchants Port Holdings Co. private after shares of the state-owned conglomerate’s unit slid in Hong Kong this year, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation is preparing to launch a public-private partnership that will use drones in coronavirus-related relief efforts.

Meat isn’t going to disappear from supermarkets because of outbreaks of the coronavirus among workers at U.S. slaughterhouses. But as the meat plants struggle to remain open, consumers could face less selection and slightly higher prices.

CSX Corp. on April 22 announced a first-quarter earnings drop of 8% to $770 million, or $1 per share, compared with $834 million, or $1.02, in the same quarter of 2019.

UPS Inc. will use drones to fill prescriptions for residents of The Villages in Florida, one of the country’s biggest retirement communities, amid a lockdown to halt the coronavirus.