Today’s Logistics Report: Winding Down Destocking; Imports’ Annual Hangover; Inventory in Gear

Car dealer lots across the U.S. are displaying signs of strengthening automotive supply chains. Buyers are finding a bigger selection of models to choose from this spring selling season, the WSJ’s Ryan Felton reports, in a turnaround from the scarce inventory that left sales volumes faltering and consumers waiting months for deliveries of some popular models. Overall, dealership inventories are up about 50% from last year, but Wards Intelligence says that is only about half the stock available two years before. Still, the replenished inventory is shaping up as a test for car companies, many of which would like to keep availability permanently constrained to maintain margins. For now, pent-up demand has sales growing and buyers still paying historically high prices. The Association of American Railroads says automotive shipments on North American railroads reached the highest level in the first four months of the year since 2019.

• Panasonic plans more than $5 billion in capital spending this fiscal year, more than half of it to increase electric-vehicle battery output. (Nikkei Asia)
• Vietnamese car maker Vinfast completed its first delivery of electric SUVs to Canada. (Automotive Logistics)

Copper prices have fallen to a five-month low over concerns about China’s sputtering recovery. (WSJ)

China banned Micron Technology as a supplier to the country’s major firms, saying the U.S. chip maker presents a national security threat. (WSJ)

Deere raised its annual outlook on easing supply-chain pressures and a strong U.S. farm economy. (WSJ)

A federal judge ruled a passenger-ticketing alliance between American Airlines and Jetblue is anticompetitive. (WSJ)

Amazon’s sprawling logistics network has made the company vulnerable to labor actions at distribution chokepoints. (New York Times)

The drought-struck Panama Canal is adding more restrictions on ships because of low water levels. (gCaptain)

John Fredriksen-owned Seatankers is buying up to eight mid-size bulk ships from China’s Qingdao Shipyard. (Splash 247)

China Merchants is ordering two new liquefied natural gas carriers and two mid-sized crude tankers. (Lloyd’s List)

Canadian passenger airline Westjet reached a tentative contract agreement with pilots just ahead of a strike deadline. (Canadian Press)

FedEx Express is expanding its use of robotic arms in its parcel sorting operations at its Memphis, Tenn., hub. (Supply Chain Dive)

Amazon opened a 1 million-square-foot distribution center in Canton, Ohio. (Canton Repository)

Owners of an office complex in Santa Ana, Calif., are demolishing the recently-renovated buildings and building an eight-acre logistics center. (Orange County Register)

Indian logistics provider Delhivery is investing in e-commerce software startup Vinculum. (Economic Times)