A new federal strategy for building out charging stations for zero-emission heavy-duty trucks offers some clarity but no direct financial support. Industry officials say the White House’s phased plan released this week will help as they map out the needed infrastructure and should help local governments and utilities prioritize investments. The WSJ Logistics Report’s Paul Berger writes some industry groups say the strategy lacks crucial details needed to bring certainty to operators looking to transition their fleets to electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles. The charging and refueling infrastructure remains a major question for trucking companies. So far, most efforts are focused on relatively closed-loop, predictable and short-haul operations such as port trucking. Dawn Fenton of Volvo Group North America said coordination with public utilities is also a concern. The utilities have to invest in expanded grid capacity, and the White House plan may help the power companies target their investments.

• The U.S. Energy Department will provide a $2.26 billion loan to Lithium Americas for its plan to launch the country’s biggest lithium mining project. (WSJ)

The clouds over the container shipping sector are getting darker. Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd became the biggest carrier so far to offer a gloomy outlook for the sector, saying it could fall to an operating loss this year. The WSJ’s Dominic Chopping reports that shipping lines are reeling from a glut of new ships entering the market just as demand is wavering and the turmoil in the Red Sea is raising operating costs. Hapag-Lloyd, the world’s fifth-largest container line, says it is responding to the rate pressure by cutting costs and adjusting operations. A months-long slide in shipping prices halted at the start of the year, but rates have started falling again. Drewry Shipping Consultants says average prices from Shanghai to Rotterdam are down some 30% since January. Hapag-Lloyd’s average freight rates fell 48% last year, and supply and demand remain far out of balance.

• Maersk Line CEO Vincent Clerc says freight rates have fallen to unsustainable levels. (Reuters)
• Taiwan-based Evergreen Marine and Wan Hai Lines say revenues rebounded in the first two months of the year. (Journal of Commerce)

U.S. retail sales excluding automobiles edged up 0.3% from January to February. (WSJ)

Producer prices in the U.S. rose 0.6% in February, the steepest increase in six months. (WSJ)

President Biden announced the administration’s opposition to Nippon Steel’s proposed takeover of U.S. Steel. (WSJ)

Dick’s Sporting Goods boosted its outlook after sales jumped 7.8% in the last quarter. (MarketWatch)

U.S. wood-pellet exporter Enviva filed for bankruptcy protection. (WSJ)

Energy major Shell scrapped its interim 2035 target for carbon reduction. (Financial Times)

China's Alibaba plans to spend $1.1 billion over the next three years to build an e-commerce logistics network in South Korea. (Yonhap)

Maritime security experts say Somalia-based pirates are moving to attack more ships​ after hijacking a bulk carrier this week. (Splash 247)

The Japanese unit of U.S. consumer goods supplier Procter & Gamble plans to shrink its delivery truck fleet by 30% after adopting an AI system to boost logistics efficiency. (Nikkei Asia)

Walmart plans to start selling its AI-driven truck route-planning software to other retailers. (Bloomberg)

Swiss automation technology provider ABB is expanding its robotics manufacturing capacity in the U.S. by 30%. (WSJ)

Wincanton expects the U.K. logistics operator’s acquisition by GXO Logistics to be completed by late April. (Logistics Management)

Discount retailer Dollar General plans to open 800 more stores this year after reporting flat same-store sales last quarter. (Retail Dive)

• A bipartisan duo of China hawks drew attention when they introduced legislation aimed at TikTok, but the social-media site isn’t their only target.
• 78%: The percentage of increase in bankruptcies filed by small businesses in February.
• Layoffs and exits outstripped new hires in 2023 at startups for the first time in years, according to one count.
• New longshore labor talks are starting this year under very different circumstances than the West Coast negotiations that rattled supply chains over the past two years.
• 🎧 Listen to WSJ Pro’s James Rundle unpack how medical providers have been reeling since Change Healthcare, a company used for insurance billing and payments, got hacked.

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.