There were dozens of containers filled with flat-pack furniture, millions of cases of beer and thousands of containers of waste paper. The Suez Canal blockage created a kind of snapshot of global trade that’s usually in constant motion, the WSJ Logistics Report’s Jennifer Smith writes, and tracking data from supply-chain technology provider E2open and its Inttra shipping-sector platform showed a broad range of goods trapped on container ships around the canal. The company’s platform counted more than 66,000 containers, measured in 20-foot equivalent units, stuck at sea, including Europe-bound apparel and consumer goods shipments as well as loads of industrial parts heading to the U.S. Coast. The vessels are now steaming to various destinations, but delivery delays may continue for a time as ships back up at already congested ports. The delays could reverberate across supply chains as the movement of containers needed for export remains out of balance.

The outcome of the union election by Amazon warehouse workers in Bessemer, Ala., could come this week. Federal labor officials have been going through the mail-in ballots for about a week, the WSJ’s Sebastian Herrera reports, as workers and the e-commerce giant watch for results that experts believe could trigger stronger unionization efforts across the company’s operations. Amazon has highlighted its $15-an-hour pay and benefits as the count has proceeded, even as the company has come under fire from critics over its working conditions and tax payments. The election in Bessemer will determine whether the warehouse employees will become the first group to unionize among Amazon’s roughly 950,000 U.S. workers. Organizers have said that forming a union would allow workers to collectively bargain over safety standards, breaks, pay and other issues that have been at the center of disputes between Amazon and its workforce across hundreds of facilities.

Pharmaceutical companies are in a race to expand the Covid-19 vaccine supply chain. Moderna will have contract drug manufacturer Catalent step up its production of the company’s vaccines, the WSJ’s Jared S. Hopkins reports, while the U.S. is trying to accelerate vaccinations in the face of rising numbers of Covid-variant cases. Under a new agreement with Moderna, Catalent will shift manufacturing of the shot to one faster production line from two slower ones, and new doses will be ready for shipping starting next month. The pace of vaccinations is speeding up as state governors expand eligibility for the shots at the urging of the White House. The effort suffered a blow when a production problem at a plant run by contract manufacturer Emergent BioSolutions ruined a batch of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. J&J is taking over production there under a plan pressed by the Biden administration.

China’s Cosco Shipping expects first-quarter net profit to reach $2.3 billion, in a sign of how rising global trade flows are fueling strong shipping-sector earnings. (WSJ)

The International Monetary Fund raised its projections for global economic growth for this year to 6% this year and 4.4% next year. (WSJ)

Orders for U.S. manufactured goods fell 0.8% in February. (MarketWatch)

United Airlines will start enrolling students in the pilot training academy it agreed to buy shortly before the pandemic. (WSJ)

Saudi Arabia’s Aramco is in advanced talks to sell up to a 49% stake in its oil pipelines to a consortium of U.S., Chinese and local Saudi investors. (WSJ)

General Motors plans to roll out an electric version of its popular Chevy Silverado pickup truck. (WSJ)

Fashion retail owner The Collected Group filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. (WSJ)

Renesas Electronics is shifting automotive semiconductor production to an alternative factory after a fire at another of its plants. (Nikkei Asia)

Sri Lanka banned imports of palm oil and told planters in the country to destroy their trees and replace them with other crops. (Bloomberg)

Gap is designing a fulfillment system to prioritize delivery based on customer loyalty. (Supply Chain Dive)

China’s coal imports are expected to shrink this year as prices for inbound shipments rise beyond the cost of domestic production. (Lloyd’s List)

Contract rates for container shipping from Asia to Europe soared 155% in the first quarter. (Journal of Commerce)

Union Pacific handled 404 trains hauling wind-power equipment last year, its most ever for that business. (Progressive Railroading)

XPO Logistics named Baris Oran chief financial officer of its supply-chain business ahead of a planned spinoff of the unit. (WSJ)

Shopoff Realty Investments is building a logistics center in Riverside County, Calif., with two warehouses totaling 1.8 million square feet. (Business Journals)

U.S. authorities seized a shipment of cocaine valued at more than $1 million on a breakbulk vessel anchored near Annapolis, Md. (Herald Mail)

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.