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LOS ANGELES — A contract between shipping companies and 22,000 West Coast dockworkers expired over the weekend. But both sides continued to talk and said they want to avoid a strike that could savage an economy already stressed by soaring inflation and supply chain woes.

An indicator of U.S. supply chain pressure fell to the lowest level in two years, as a sharp drop in transportation costs underscores the slowdown in the nation’s economy heading into the second half of the year.

The union representing about 22,000 West Coast dockworkers and their employers will continue negotiations for a new labor contract past the July 1 expiration of their current pact and said the ports — among them the U.S.’s busiest — will keep functioning.

SAN FRANCISCO — A California agency on June 30 cleared the way for the Oakland Athletics to continue planning a $12 billion waterfront ballpark project.

Automation at the Long Beach Container Terminal and the Port of Los Angeles’ TraPac terminal has eliminated 535,848 hours and $41.8 million in wages annually for dockworkers, even as production at ports that are automated is typically lower than at those that aren’t, according to a new study.

A federal judge ordered Peter Armbruster, former chief financial officer of Roadrunner Transportation Systems Inc., to pay $1.1 million in restitution in connection with a sophisticated account fraud scheme.

Two years into the crisis that disrupted global supply chains, the busiest port complex in the U.S. is still battling bottlenecks across the board.

American Trucking Associations called on federal elected leaders to ensure ongoing freight rail workforce negotiations avoid disrupting key aspects of the nation’s supply chain.

MECHANICVILLE, N.Y. — CSX Corp. has completed its long-sought purchase of Pan Am Railways.