Today's newsletter was written by WSJ Logistics Report's Jennifer Smith.

China’s biggest shipyard is selling “coronavirus bonds” to help shore up its finances. China State Shipbuilding Corp. has raised $718.2 million by selling bonds that devote a portion of their proceeds to epidemic prevention and control efforts, the WSJ Logistics Report’s Costas Paris writes, a tactic other Chinese shipping players and state-owned enterprises are increasingly employing as impacts from the virus siphon off working capital. The debt is underwritten by state-owned banks at preferential interest rates, in what amounts to a back-door subsidy for Chinese companies. China Merchants and Cosco Shipping have also raised money this way, one bank executive said. The tactic comes as China’s shipbuilders face significant challenges in fulfilling contracts because of worker shortages and other effects from the coronavirus. More than 200 deliveries of ships under repairs or retrofitting are likely to be pushed back, the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry said.

Click here for the latest on business impacts from the epidemic.

Chinese truckers are stuck in park as measures to control the coronavirus epidemic bottle up freight flows. Quarantines and travel restrictions have sidelined about half of China’s truck drivers, the WSJ’s Trefor Moss reports, crimping supply lines and slowing deliveries of everything from farm produce to auto parts as the Chinese economy struggles to get back on track. About 73% of China’s goods move by road, and the scarcity of available trucks has sent shipping costs soaring. The knock-on effects of the transportation shutdown extend beyond domestic logistics networks, leaving containers stranded at seaports and factories challenged to ship out finished goods to the thousands of businesses around the world that source directly from China. Shipping giant A.P. Møller-Mærsk AS says trucking capacity in southern China has rebounded to 60%, but local trucking companies say it could be weeks before things get back to normal.

The energy glut has taken to the high seas. Dozens of ships are being used as floating storage vats for oil and liquefied natural gas as repercussions from the novel coronavirus leave fuel owners stuck with rising volumes of unsold cargo, the WSJ’s Joe Wallace and Benoit Faucon write. The epidemic cut China’s appetite for fuel as the virus shut down swaths of the economy, and deals with refineries are falling through as the virus spreads to other countries in East Asia. Some 79 vessels were storing crude and condensates at sea as of Tuesday, a 23% jump from a year ago, while commercial crude storage is at a record level in the Shandong ports connected by pipeline to Wuhan, the virus’s epicenter. One broker called the epidemic the most disruptive event in his three decades in shipping. The floating cargoes of oil and gas could further depress energy prices.

U.S. private employers added 183,000 jobs in February. (WSJ)

The reasons that led the Federal Reserve to reduce rates Tuesday help explain why another rate cut is probably on the way. (WSJ)

Service-industry businesses are seeing supply-chain disruptions from the coronavirus. (WSJ)

The Bank of Canada cut its benchmark interest rate by a half percentage point. (WSJ)

Brazil’s economy expanded at the slowest pace in three years in 2019. (WSJ)

Congress agreed to fund a roughly $8 billion response to the coronavirus outbreak. (WSJ)

The cruise industry is getting slammed as travelers cancel bookings over coronavirus concerns. (WSJ)

United Airlines Holdings plans to cut domestic and international capacity as travel demand slumps. (WSJ)

General Electric said the coronavirus epidemic could reduce its first-quarter free cash flow by as much as $500 million. (WSJ)

Campbell Soup said retailers are stocking up on the company’s canned goods in response to the coronavirus’s spread. (WSJ).

Lego plans to open 150 new stores as Chinese demand for its toy bricks grows. (WSJ)

Chinese steel inventories are hitting record levels as the coronavirus epidemic stalls demand and shipments. (Nikkei Asian Review)

Abu Dhabi Ports and vessel designer Robert Allan are working to develop unmanned autonomous tugboats. (Port Technology)

Singapore-based Pacific International Lines is selling off ships to support its operations. (The Loadstar)

A report said the shipping industry is failing to protect seafarers’ human rights. (Lloyd’s List)

Air cargo demand fell 3.3% in January, the 10th straight month of year-over-year declines, the International Air Transport Association said. (Air Cargo World)

Logistics-sector growth slowed in February to its lowest level in at least three years, according to one measure. (DC Velocity)

A Trump administration proposal to let railroads ship liquefied natural gas is drawing opposition from elected officials and other groups. (Washington Post)

Australians are hoarding toilet paper as coronavirus cases there rise. (BBC)

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.