The battle between Norfolk Southern and an activist investor is growing more heated as a shareholder vote that is likely to decide the leadership of the freight railroad nears. Ancora Holdings won key backing from a proxy advisory firm in the latest round, with Glass Lewis endorsing six of Ancora’s seven proposed board nominees. The WSJ’s Dean Seal reports that the firm said Ancora had made “a compelling case” for ousting Norfolk Southern’s current leadership, including Board Chair Amy Miles and CEO Alan Shaw. Two of the three largest railroad unions are also now backing Ancora’s dissident board candidates. The actions come as Norfolk Southern investors prepare to vote May 9 on Ancora’s bid. Norfolk Southern decried what it called the activist’s “value-destructive commitments,” saying Ancora struck a labor deal that binds the business to promises made to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen division of the Teamsters union.

U.S. grocers are resetting their supply chains as the supermarkets and their customers adjust to inflation. A shift to fewer products on the shelves is part of a broad realignment of consumer shopping patterns, the WSJ’s Rachel Wolfe reports, as households split their purchases among a wider variety of stores in a hunt for budget-saving deals. The trend is triggering changes across a foundation of retail supply chains, with grocers increasingly narrowing the number of goods they carry rather than trying to be all things to all people. Consumers bought groceries from an average of 20.7 different retailers over the past year, according to Numerator, up 23% from four years earlier. Stores are also putting a greater focus on their own private-label brands. Sales of store brands were up 15% for the 52 weeks ended March 23 over the same time in 2022, according to AlixPartners.

• Danish retailer Flying Tiger Copenhagen is taking DSV to court over the shipper’s claim it is owed $72 million for excessive freight charges during the pandemic. (ShippingWatch)
• UBS forecasts that about 45,000 retail stores in the U.S. may close in the next five years. (Retail Dive)

Discount grocer Aldi’s focus on cutting costs in its supply chain is giving the company a boost in an inflation-wracked supermarket sector. The grocery chain known for low prices and a 25-cent deposit to access a shopping cart has emerged as an inflation winner, the WSJ’s Patrick Thomas writes, with foot traffic at its stores rising far ahead of its rivals and the business on track to spread. The company has been adding about 100 stores a year and plans to add 800 stores nationwide by the end of 2028 as part of a $9 billion expansion plan. It uses supply chain strategies that have been honed over years. That includes placing goods in the stores on the pallets they are delivered in. Aldi also carries far fewer items than a typical supermarket, allowing it to buy from suppliers in larger volumes, at a cheaper price.

Beijing signaled its blessing for Tesla to roll out its advanced driver-assistance service in China. (WSJ)

The International Group of P&I Clubs says hundreds of tankers have left coverage over what it says is an “unenforceable” cap on Russian oil prices. (TradeWinds)

The first containership entered the Port of Baltimore since the collapse of the Key Bridge on March 26. (WJZ)

Iran plans to release the crew from the MSC Aries, the Mediterranean Shipping containership it seized this month. (Maritime Executive)

QatarEnergy ordered 18 supersized liquefied natural gas tankers from China. (Splash 247)

A.P. Moller-Maersk plans to spend about $600 million to improve seaport infrastructure in Nigeria. (Reuters)

Daimler Truck North America and the United Auto Workers struck a tentative contract agreement that averts a strike at factories and distribution centers. (Commercial Carrier Journal)

ACT Research believes the trucking-sector downturn should end in the next few months. (Supply Chain XChange)

Truck trailer manufacturer Wabash says customers have been delaying picking up their ordered equipment. (Trucking Dive)

Food supplier Monogram Foods named former Kellogg executive Larry Elliott as its chief supply chain officer. (Supply Chain Dive)

A cat that had sneaked into an Amazon returns package traveled from Utah to California before being discovered. (New York Times)

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

Follow the WSJ Logistics Report team: @PaulPage, @bylizyoung and @pdberger. Follow the WSJ Logistics Report on X at @WSJLogistics.