The Trump administration is pushing for the biggest upgrade in decades to the nation’s fleet of noncombat ships in a bid to boost U.S. shipbuilding and strengthen America’s ability to prosecute wars overseas.

The WSJ Logistics Report’s Paul Berger writes that agencies from the U.S. Navy to the National Science Foundation are requesting funds in the 2027 fiscal year budget for cargo ships, vehicle carriers, cutters and a research vessel. Even the National Park Service is asking for a ferry. The funding requests in the proposed budget must be approved by Congress. Some maritime industry executives say they hope strong bipartisan support for shipbuilding will overcome spending concerns.

The overall goal of the requests is to send a demand signal to U.S. shipyards that orders are on their way, and that yards should modernize and expand facilities, said Jerry Hendrix, who leads the Office of Management and Budget’s shipbuilding office.

• The proposed budget included $105 million for the Maritime Administration’s Small Shipyard Grant Program. (WorkBoat)

President Trump’s threat to blockade the Strait of Hormuz as of 10 a.m. ET Monday sets up a risky new showdown that could draw American forces into a prolonged struggle to control the strategic chokepoint.

Iran said a blockade would constitute an "act of piracy" and no port in the Persian Gulf or the Sea of Oman would be safe if its ports were threatened. The moves open a volatile new phase in the war, shifting from punishing strikes on military targets to an open-ended campaign to police the strait, the Journal’s Vera Bergengruen, Shelby Holliday and Georgi Kantchev write.

The developments could dim hopes for a reprieve from surging jet-fuel prices. The war is choking off one of the world’s most critical sources of jet fuel, triggering a swift shortage, the WSJ’s Matthew Dalton, Benjamin Katz and Alison Sider write. Airlines, airports and fuel suppliers are warning that the cease-fire—even if it holds—won’t solve the crisis any time soon.

Prices have surged to a record high of more than $200 a barrel, up from around $90 at this time last year. China has stopped exporting jet fuel so it can meet its own needs and airports across Asia are already running out of supply. Europe is on the cusp of severe shortages as soon as May if the strait isn’t fully reopened. 

• A commercial vessel was approached by an armed skiff in the Red Sea off Yemen on Sunday, according to the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations, which also said there had been no meaningful increase in traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. (WSJ)
• Economists surveyed by WSJ dimmed their 2026 outlook due to the war in Iran, forecasting 2% growth, 3.2% inflation, and 45,000 jobs created per month. (WSJ)
• The conflict in Iran is inflicting a new toll on U.S. commercial construction, raising costs and risking project delays. (WSJ)
• The average rate paid by forwarders to ship cargo by air from Hong Kong to Europe rose 13.2% year-over-year to $4.97 a kilogram in March because of the Iran war, TAC Index data showed. (Air Cargo News)

The Hay Capital of the World might soon want to consider a new moniker: America’s Aluminum Epicenter. Emirates Global Aluminium and Chicago’s Century Aluminum selected Inola, Okla., as the site of the first new U.S. smelter since 1980, the WSJ’s Ryan Dezember writes.

The planned facility is designed to produce up to 750,000 metric tons a year and would more than double the U.S.’s smelting capacity. Construction is expected to cost more than $4 billion and begin by year-end. It is expected to employ about 1,000 workers once complete.

• Consumer sentiment fell in April to 47.6, the lowest in the University of Michigan’s 74-year survey history. (WSJ)
• Surging energy costs pushed up producer prices in China, snapping a streak of factory deflation in the country that lasted more than three years. (WSJ)
• Taiwan’s exports surged 61.8% in March from a year earlier, driven by sustained demand for artificial-intelligence applications. (WSJ)
• Panama’s foreign minister called on China to respect his country’s legal sovereignty, citing a sharp rise in inspections and detentions of Panama-flagged vessels. (Dow Jones Risk Journal)
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection said its Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, or CAPE, tool would on April 20 start processing straightforward, recent import entries for tariff refunds. (Bloomberg)
• The first container-derivative trade was brokered on the New York Shipping Exchange (NYSHEX) for 40-foot boxes on an Asia-to-North Europe route. (The Loadstar)
• EV Realty opened an electric-charging hub in Southern California with 76 stalls to serve commercial vehicles from customers including J.B. Hunt Transport and Nevoya. (TruckingDive)
• Danish logistics giant DSV is shutting operations at a Texas facility, laying off nearly 400 non-union workers. (Dallas Morning News)
• Nearly $396.8 million was earmarked for inland-waterway construction projects in the Army Corps of Engineers 2026 work plan. (Waterways Journal)
• Broe Group unit OmniTRAX acquired three Arkansas short-line railroads from the local Robbins family. (TrainsPRO)

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.