By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – President Joe Biden is hosting a meeting with U.S. officials as well as private sector firms like FedEx (NYSE). The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss ongoing efforts to reduce supply chain disruptions.

Biden established a taskforce to deal with the problem in June. The White House claims it made significant progress in addressing the “significant bottlenecks” that were rooted in the pandemic.

Walmart (NYSE.) Inc Chief Executive Doug McMillon claimed that a decision last month to expand port hours was having a positive influence on the flow and quality of goods. Many U.S. businesses are still affected by supply chain problems.

Reuters reports this week that candy manufacturers, just like farmers and retailers, were hit during COVID-19 by high commodity prices and labor shortages. This prevented them from cashing in fully on the holiday season.

The pandemic was a major factor in the shipping crisis. The pandemic left many Americans stranded at home with little to no travel or entertainment money. They also spent a lot of government stimulus funds and their own tax dollars on food, refrigerators and toys. Import demand overwhelmed supply chain.

Biden, who has been struggling with U.S. inflation that recently hit an all-time high of 31 years, took steps to overcome such logjams. These included unclogging ports, expanding trucker hours, and clearing out the roads.

Wednesday’s meeting will include the secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Labor and Transportation as well as National Economic Council Director Brian Deese and Port Envoy John Porcari.

The chief executives of FedEx and Gap Inc, a clothing retailer in Gap Inc (NYSE :), Yellow Corp, a Kansas-based trucking firm Yellow Corp, as well as the American Association of Port Authorities are also joining the conversation.

Biden also requested investigations regarding excessive shipping charges and illegal behavior in the oil and gas market.

On Wednesday, the White House stated that fuel prices have fallen 12 cents per gallon to $3.30 on average since last month’s peak. But Biden said that she believes that these are still too high considering that we are coming out of a pandemic that only happens once in a century.