Apparel retailers are finally winning back shoppers just as a new potential problem arises: more expensive cotton.

At 9 a.m. on June 16, 2017, Whole Foods employees packed into the main level of the company’s Austin headquarters. Only an hour earlier Amazon had announced that it was acquiring the high-end natural grocer, and the corporate staffers were as shocked as the rest of the public.

Logistics and freight transport companies went on a hiring spree in May, adding 18,700 jobs to keep pace with accelerating demand in the U.S. shipping markets.

It is “unlikely” that any romaine lettuce from Yuma, Arizona — the origin of E. coli contaminated greens — remain on grocery store shelves, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with the Food and Drug Administration. However, consumers, farmers and retailers are still feeling the impact.

Blockchain is being touted these days as a revolutionary way of maintaining global supply chains. Is it living up to that promise?