The new head of the Federal Maritime Commission wants the shipping regulator to play a bigger role in protecting American commerce around the globe. Laura DiBella, who was appointed last week by President Trump to run the FMC, tells the WSJ Logistics Report’s Paul Berger that she intends to focus the agency on geopolitical risks to U.S. importers and exporters.

These risks range from global maritime chokepoints to the shadow fleet of tankers that carry illicit oil from Russia and Iran. DiBella’s overseas priorities aren’t new to the FMC, but her focus indicates that the agency will increasingly flex its muscle in the area of geopolitics. The FMC has traditionally focused on commercial issues for retailers and manufacturers.

The regulator has recently directed its attention to areas such as supply-chain data sharing and the availability of trailers to move containers to and from ports. The commission’s recent overseas pivots include probes into risks at maritime chokepoints, such as the Malacca Strait near Singapore, and into foreign-flagging practices that lower standards for ship maintenance and crews.

Panama’s Port Authority is hiring A.P. Moeller-Maersk unit APM Terminals to temporarily manage two port facilities once the license to operate them held by CK Hutchison–voided last week by the nation’s top court–is formally revoked. The government will then open a bidding process to maximize value and market competition, the WSJ’s Santiago Pérez, Costas Paris and James T. Aredda report.

BlackRock, Mediterranean Shipping Co., APM Terminals and French rival CMA CGM have expressed interest, according to people familiar with the process. Last year Maersk bought the Panama Canal Railway Co., which operates a 47-mile line parallel to the waterway, further entrenching its logistics presence around the canal corridor.

The Supreme Court’s decision to annul the Hong Kong company’s contract to run the port of Balboa on the Pacific and Cristóbal on the Atlantic complicated the $23 billion deal led by BlackRock and MSC to buy Hutchison’s global ports portfolio. The deal already was in peril after Beijing threatened to block it if Cosco wasn’t added as an equal partner. Removing the Panama ports from the transaction could reduce China’s leverage.

• U.S. containerized imports fell 6.4% in December from a year earlier to 1.9 million 20-foot-equivalient units, after slipping 5.7% in November, according to analyst John McCown’s monthly report. (Bloomberg)

Hyundai Motor CEO José Muñoz wants to shake up the carmaker’s hierarchical culture, expand into robots and flying cars, and build factories in the U.S. faster. In an exclusive interview, the car maker’s first non-Korean chief explains why it is doubling down on the American market, even as tariffs and policy changes upend the auto industry.

• South Korea’s exports increased 34% year-over-year in January to $65.85 billion, driven by more working days and strong semiconductor demand. (WSJ)

• Prices charged by U.S. producers for their products climbed by a higher-than-expected 0.5% in December, an uptick from a 0.2% rise the previous month, the Labor Department said. (WSJ)
• China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers index unexpectedly fell to 49.3 in January from 50.1 in December, indicating contraction. (WSJ)
• Canada’s economic recovery stumbled in the final quarter of 2025 as goods-producing industries struggled with supply-chain bottlenecks, as well as tariffs and trade uncertainty. (WSJ)
• The eurozone economy expanded by 1.5% last year, its fastest pace since 2022, despite increased U.S. tariffs. (WSJ)
• Taiwan’s economy grew by 8.63% in 2025, marking its fastest expansion since 2010, driven by the AI boom. (WSJ)
• Eli Lilly said it plans to open a $3.5 billion plant to produce weight-loss drugs in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, with the state investing $100 million into the project. (WSJ)
• Canadian National Railway posted higher quarterly profit and revenue, as well as an adjusted operating ratio of 60.1% and a 4% increase in revenue ton miles to 61.7 million. (WSJ)
• Uber Technologies’ food-delivery business agreed to pay $3.5 million in worker pay restitution and civil penalties as part of an order by the New York City government. (WSJ)
• Aluminum Corp. of China, or Chinalco, and Rio Tinto agreed to buy a majority stake in Companhia Brasileira de Alumínio for about $900 million. (WSJ)
• German auto-parts supplier Robert Bosch said it expects further competitive and price pressures this year as it reported sluggish sales growth and lower earnings for 2025. (WSJ)
• VenHub Global, which operates fully automated convenience stores that look like giant vending machines, began trading Friday via a direct listing. (WSJ)
• The EPA stopped a California program to remotely measure emissions from heavy-duty vehicles on state roads. (Transport Topics)
• Birdon America plans to build a 400,000 square-foot shipbuilding facility at the Port of Pensacola, Fla., with operations scheduled to start in the third quarter of 2027. (WorkBoat)

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.