The warehousing sector at the heart of logistics business is showing clear signs of contraction. Employment at warehouse and storage businesses fell last month to the lowest level in more than a year, with companies slashing payrolls by 11,800 jobs. The WSJ Logistics Report writes that operations that were scrambling to find workers early last year have now cut nearly 50,000 jobs since last June, according to new government figures. The pullback tracks with slowing freight-shipping demand as retailers pare inventories rather than add to existing stocks. Low vacancy rates suggest space is still tight by historical standards even as construction and leasing rates level off from pandemic-era highs. The impact of underlying demand takes time to show up in warehousing, however, because of industrial real estate’s long lead times for planning and multiyear leases. The dwindling hiring levels suggest the work inside the distribution centers is already slowing down.

• U.S. employers added 236,000 jobs in March as the labor market showed signs of cooling. (WSJ)
• Prospects for more union gains at Amazon have faded since a labor organizing victory at a Staten Island, N.Y., warehouse last year. (The Guardian)
• Walmart executives say they will need at least the same number of workers for order fulfillment even as the retailer scales up automation. (Insider)

The fastest-growing industrial production line in the U.S. right now may be the building of the factories themselves. Construction spending related to manufacturing reached a record $108 billion in 2022, with new factories rising in urban cores and rural fields, desert flats and surf towns. The WSJ’s John Keilman reports that much of the growth is coming in high-tech fields like semiconductors and electric-vehicle batteries that are backed by government incentives. But it’s also being driven by companies that once relied exclusively on lower-cost countries for manufacturing and now are responding to shifting supply-chain imperatives. One apparel supplier says retailers want to cut down on in-store inventories, so U.S. factories allow for faster stock replenishment. Much of the nationwide manufacturing buildup aims to shorten the distance products travel from factory to sales floor. Toy maker Lego says that is why it is building its first U.S. plant in Virginia.

• Tesla is building a factory in Shanghai to manufacture its high-capacity Megapack battery. (WSJ)

A change may be coursing toward diesel pumps. U.S. production of renewable diesel hit 5 million gallons a day for the first time in January, the WSJ’s Bob Henderson reports, extending a two-year biofuel business boom and offering a potential cleaner alternative to the petroleum product that fuels industrial operations. Annual production tripled between 2019 and 2022, and the Energy Information Administration forecasts it will reach 3.34 billion gallons next year. That pales next to the more than 46 billion gallons of diesel the U.S. transportation sector consumed in 2021. But for the trucking industry, the fuel may offer help in reducing carbon emissions while electrification of long-haul, heavy-duty vehicles remains a long way off. Renewable diesel is made in a way similar to that for conventional fuel powering trucks and trains. Experts say it is similar enough to its petroleum-based cousin to serve as a drop-in replacement.

• Exxon Mobil  has held preliminary talks with Pioneer Natural Resources about a possible acquisition of the U.S. fracking giant. (WSJ)
• A megatanker is sailing from China to Yemen to offload a deteriorating tanker that threatens to spill its cargo into the Red Sea. (Marine Insight)

Samsung is cutting memory-chip production as it projects its smallest quarterly operating profit since 2009. (WSJ)

Whole Foods Market is exploring building commercial kitchens that would make prepared meals for the grocer’s supermarkets. (WSJ)

Tupperware Brands has engaged financial advisers and is seeking new financing. (WSJ)

Longshore workers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach effectively shut down cargo handling operations Friday, stepping up job actions amid protracted West Coast contract negotiations. (Supply Chain Dive)

CMA CGM ordered 16 container ships from China State Shipbuilding in a $3.1 billion deal. (Maritime Executive)

Companies are using technologies including AI and DNA tracking to better understand the origins of their products and raw materials. (New York Times)

Japan is slashing its reliance on Russian coal as buyers source more fuel from suppliers in Indonesia and South Korea. (Nikkei Asia)

ABF Freight began contract negotiations with the less-than-truckload carrier’s Teamsters-represented workers. (Transport Dive)

Boeing resumed deliveries of 767 freighters after a pause to address a “quality issue.” (Air Cargo News)

Retailer Shoe City filed for bankruptcy protection​ and plans to close its 39 stores. (Footwear News)

Denmark’s DFDS Logistics acquired British trucker D.R. Macleod. (Motor Transport)

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 Twitter at @WSJLogistics.