A war-fueled surge in the price of fertilizer is reverberating in the American heartland, forcing farmers to make tough choices ahead of the spring planting season, while sending shares of U.S. producers soaring.

The Middle East fighting has choked off big chunks of the world’s supply of ammonia, urea, sulfur and phosphates, the WSJ’s Patrick Thomas and Ryan Dezember write. Since U.S. natural gas prices haven’t risen as sharply as in Europe, domestic producers of fertilizer, as well as steel, plastic and corrugated packaging have an advantage that is attracting investors.

For American farmers already shouldering higher costs, the disruption has boosted prices for certain fertilizers by about 30%, right as they map out how to plant their fields in spring. Many farmers are already in a precarious financial position after years of bumper crops that depressed prices, and after President Trump’s tariffs raised costs. More U.S. acres will likely be planted with soybeans, which fix their own nitrogen in the soil and need less fertilizer than corn.

The fertilizer price surge might create an opening for companies such as Pivot Bio, the Journal’s Ed Ballard writes. The company uses gene-editing to develop microbes that grab nitrogen from the air. Pivot Bio is promising less after the last demand surge in 2022 turned out poorly, now saying its microbes supply 15% to 30% of plants’ nitrogen instead of replacing regular fertilizer.

In other war-related news:

• The U.S. is planning for the Navy to escort commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz when it is militarily possible, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC. (WSJ)
• Trump is considering waiving the Jones Act, a statue that applies to ships carrying goods between U.S. ports and can add to transportation costs, to speed up oil shipments. (WSJ)
• Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, settled at $100.46 a barrel Thursday, the first time they closed regular trading hours above that mark since August 2022. (WSJ)
• At least 20 LNG carriers—about half the global fleet currently available for charter—are trapped in the Persian Gulf, with daily freight costs soaring as demand from Asia surges. (WSJ)
• Saudi Aramco is in talks with at least two Ukrainian companies to buy interceptor drones that could help protect against Iranian attacks targeting its oil fields. (WSJ)
• Stryker’s operations, including order processing, manufacturing and shipping, are still disrupted by a cyberattack related to the Iran war. (WSJ)
• Norsk Hydro said its Qatari aluminum smelter would continue production at 60% of capacity, rather than fully shut down. (WSJ)
• The equivalent of about 100,000 20-foot containers of cargo that originated in East Asia is heading to Indian ports after being stranded en route to the Mideast. (Journal of Commerce)
• Fifty-six containerships from the 10 largest carriers are stuck in the Gulf region, with about 140 vessels trapped in total. (Lloyd’s List)

The U.S. trade deficit shrank in January, continuing a volatile run for America’s trade balance as imports and exports have been buffeted by rapidfire changes to the Trump administration’s trade policy.

In the first month of 2026, U.S. imports declined by 0.7% from the previous month, while exports expanded by 5.5%, the Commerce Department reported. That yielded a deficit of $54.5 billion, down 25% from a large monthly deficit in December.

The jump in exports was led by a significant increase in sales of gold to overseas buyers. Big swings in international flows of the precious metal have added to volatility in trade data for months. Imports declined primarily because the U.S. bought fewer pharmaceuticals from abroad.

• Canada’s merchandise-trade deficit widened to the equivalent of about $2.68 billion in January, its broadest gap in five months, driven by declining exports. (WSJ)

The company, called Valor, is attempting to commercialize a breakthrough in metallurgy called electrochemical liquid-liquid extraction.

Valor is building its first processing facility in Houston, on the property of biochemical producer Solugen, whose founders are also investors. It hopes to eventually build refineries of various sizes across the U.S., near lithium brine fields in Arkansas, Arizona’s copper mines and big cities where loads of recycled cellphones and computers can be gathered.

• U.S. initial jobless claims fell to 213,000 in the week through March 7, signaling modest layoffs from employers. (WSJ)
• A shopper looking to get his tariff costs back sued Costco Wholesale, with a suit filed in an Illinois federal court seeking class-action status. (WSJ)
• Dollar General expects sales growth to slow this year, as recent winter storms hurt the current quarter and continued uncertainty clouds consumer behavior. (WSJ)
• The Trump administration is suing California in an effort to shut down the state’s moves to limit carbon emissions from cars and transition to zero-emission vehicles. (WSJ)
• Honda Motor expects up to $15.7 billion in expenses and losses related to its EV strategy re-evaluation, projecting an annual net loss. (WSJ)
• Daimler Truck posted lower adjusted quarterly earnings and revenue, with sales dropping 29% at Trucks North America, although its order intake grew. (WSJ)
• China’s retail passenger car sales fell 25% in February from a year earlier, amid cooling demand and reduced government subsidies. (WSJ)
• EV maker Lucid Group announced a new midsize-vehicle platform with three models and a Lunar two-seat robotaxi concept. (WSJ)
• Germany’s RWE plans to invest around $20 billion in renewable energy and gas-fired power plants in the U.S. as it seeks to cash in on growing energy demand from data centers. (WSJ)
• Tesla secured a license to supply power in Britain to households and businesses. (WSJ)
• Two dozen states asked a judge to expedite their lawsuit challenging the 10% global tariff Trump imposed last month. (Bloomberg)

Mark R. Long is editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Reach him at mark.long@wsj.com. Follow the WSJ Logistics Report team on LinkedIn: Mark R. Long, Liz Young and Paul Berger.