The shifting direction in U.S. manufacturing supply chains is triggering changes in airfreight flows. International freight forwarders are increasingly hiring their own aircraft and seeking alternatives to America’s congested air hubs, the WSJ Logistics Report’s Paul Berger writes, in a strategy that is starting to reset the country’s air cargo map. Regional airports like South Carolina’s Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport and Chicago Rockford International Airport are benefitting as manufacturers and logistics middlemen look for faster paths to factories. The forwarders are driven partly by congestion at the big hubs, but they are also following the growth in manufacturing across South and Southwest America. Car makers and other industrial suppliers are boosting production in South Carolina, near Greenville-Spartanburg. And DSV is adding chartered service at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, a secondary site in Phoenix, as contract chip maker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing is investing heavily in Arizona.

• Analysts say dimming airfreight demand could lead to lower rates and greater capacity this year. (Supply Chain Dive)
• Singapore-based airport services provider SATS is on track to complete a $1.29 billion purchase of air cargo handler Worldwide Flight Services as early as March. (Nikkei Asia)

Supply chains may operate in many different ways, but an exhibit in New York City suggests they also work as art. An installation at the Museum of Modern Art makes the case with a series of works anchored by a large, intricate presentation of the life cycle of an Amazon Echo speaker, from initial materials sourcing to how it operates to what happens when it is thrown out. The WSJ Logistics Report’s Liz Young writes that the piece called “Anatomy of an AI System” is the central piece in an exhibit titled Systems that competes for attention with Picasso, Warhol and other works at MoMA. Curators say it is an attempt to lay out the inner workings of systems and supply chains behind the familiar consumer goods, appliances and other features of modern life. One recent visitor says the exhibit “gives you a greater appreciation for everything that we use.”
 

A potential deal in the works could reset competition in Europe’s automotive supply chains. Ford is in talks with Chinese electric-vehicle maker BYD about the sale of the U.S. company’s manufacturing plant in Germany. The WSJ’s William Boston reports that Ford is targeting the sale of its factory in Saarlouis, where production of the Focus compact model is slated to end in 2025. Selling the plant would mark another step in Ford’s efforts to overhaul its European operations and shift completely to electric vehicles. It would also be a major step for China’s electric-car industry, which has started expanding into European markets. A deal would mark a major milestone for fast-growing BYD, which last year sold 1.86 million electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, three times as many as the year before. Tesla has also jumped into the market with production starting last year at a plant near Berlin.

• The orderbook for new car carriers has swelled to 130 vessels with capacity of 27% of the existing fleet. (Lloyd’s List)
• Grimaldi Lines ordered five car carriers capable of being powered by ammonia. (ShippingWatch)

U.S. employers have cut 110,800 temp jobs in the past year, including 35,000 in December. (WSJ)

General Electric’s quarterly earnings surged on strong demand for jet engines and power equipment. (WSJ)

3M is cutting about 2,500 global manufacturing jobs after forecasting lower sales and profit in 2023 as demand for its products has weakened. (WSJ)

Serta Simmons Bedding filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as a yearslong feud with its minority lenders drags on. (WSJ)

Uber Freight is laying off 150 people in its brokerage business. (CNBC)

A report says standing up an offshore wind supply chain to meet White House goals would cost at least $22.4 billion. (The Hill)

Activist fund Elliott Management has become one of the largest shareholders in a Japanese conglomerate with electric-vehicle battery and smartphone screen businesses. (Financial Times)

Union Pacific’s fourth-quarter profit fell 4% to $1.6 billion as harsh weather and congestion helped offset a 7.8% gain in revenue. (MarketWatch)

Major U.S. railroads are considering offering paid sick days to retain workers. (Bloomberg)

Some countries are reviving restrictions on seafarers since China ended its zero-Covid policy. (TradeWinds)

Oaktree Capital Management is selling a stake of about 5% in BW Group product tanker unit Hafnia. (Splash 247)

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.