While the world’s biggest shipping companies are hunkering down, smaller operators may have no place to hide from the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Container shipping lines are idling vessels at a record pace this quarter and have slashed dozens of sailings on major trade lanes, the WSJ Logistics Report’s Costas Paris writes in a Shipping Matters column. The maritime operators are responding to their biggest challenge since the 2009 financial crisis, a stark turnabout for companies that entered 2020 expecting a new period of stability amid easing trade tensions. Big shipping lines are trying to ride out the financial storm, but companies operating regional and niche routes face steep dangers if the crisis persists for several more weeks. One operator says he has payments due next month on eight vessels but that many of his ships are tied up with no cargo to move, and no revenue to count.

Europe’s largest economy is bracing for the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Germany’s thousands of trade-reliant manufacturers are facing severe restrictions on procurement, production and sales in China, the WSJ’s Tom Fairless and William Boston report, and many companies expect serious inventory shortages over the next few months. The scrambling at industrial heavyweights and smaller businesses shows how deeply embedded Chinese manufacturers are in global supply chains. German companies are working off stockpiles built up before the outbreak, but as ships arrive over the next week or 10 days, “that will be it from China,” said Joerg Wuttke, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. The spread of the virus to Italy could create new disruptions because the economies of Germany and northern Italy are highly integrated. Several auto plants in the industrial region around Milan have closed for a time since the outbreak there.

Amazon.com Inc.’s small third-party vendors are facing big inventory problems as the coronavirus dampens production in China. Some merchants are raising prices to intentionally slow sales and others are trying to shift production to other countries, the WSJ’s Jon Emont reports, as they try to avoid stockouts that would cripple their rankings on Amazon’s marketplace. Larger manufacturers and retailers face their own inventory shortfalls as factories in China only slowly ramp up, but smaller merchants are particularly exposed at two points in their supply chains. They generally keep limited stocks on hand to keep their costs down, and as small buyers they will be low on the list for merchandise as production resumes. The lean inventory strategy is a big feature of Amazon’s third-party marketplace, which accounts for more than half of Amazon’s retail sales. The company says it is working with suppliers to stave off the stockouts.

U.S. crude hit its lowest price in more than a year. (WSJ)

Canadian officials say the country’s freight-rail traffic is “many, many weeks” from returning to normal after a blockade halted rail shipments for two weeks. (WSJ)

Some American companies say they could lose up to half their annual revenue from China if the coronavirus epidemic extends through the summer. (WSJ)

More international airlines are cutting spending as they brace for the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. (WSJ)

U.S. apparel and footwear companies face supply-chain delays that could result in a shortage of spring goods. (WSJ)

Panasonic is ending its partnership with Tesla to build solar panels at a factory in Buffalo, N.Y. (WSJ)

The head of the Uber Technologies food-delivery business is leaving the company. (WSJ)

Walmart launched its fulfillment service to store, pack and ship goods for third-party vendors. (CNBC)

Container ship calls at Chinese ports rose sharply last week in a sign that the flow of goods is resuming. (Lloyd’s List)

China’s Shandong Port Group will spend $3 billion to upgrade facilities in Northern China including the Qingdao port. (Seatrade Maritime)

Frontline’s fourth-quarter net profit reached $109 million, the tanker operator’s best showing in 11 years. (TradeWinds)

Genco Shipping & Trading is selling 10 smaller dry-bulk cargo ships as it focuses it narrows its vessel operations. (Splash 247)

Most Chinese courier companies expect losses this year on the impact of coronavirus restrictions. (South China Morning Post)

Kuehne + Nagel International operating earnings rose 7.5% in 2019 to $1.1 billion. (Logistics Manager)

Spot trucking rates in Southern California are sliding because of dampened container traffic through the region’s ports. (Journal of Commerce)

On-demand container delivery platform Dray Alliance raised $10.2 million in a Series A funding round. (DC Velocity)

Some apparel retailers are using food-delivery operators to deliver customer orders. (Glossy)

Paul Page is editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Write to him at paul.page@wsj.com.

Follow the WSJ Logistics Report team: @PaulPage, @jensmithWSJ, @CostasParis. Follow the WSJ Logistics Report on Twitter at @WSJLogistics.