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Enter Sandman on a biomethane-fueled truck, but only if everything goes just right. Thrash-metal music stalwarts Metallica are using trucks powered by sustainable fuels on the nine-city European tour the band is launching this month. The WSJ Logistics Report’s Paul Berger writes that the rockers are teaming with European truck manufacturer Iveco and energy major Shell to showcase the potential for clean transport across European highways dotted with alternative-fueling stations. As the tour gets underway, however, it’s looking more a showcase for how far the clean-fuels sector has to go. The trucks’ limitations and the workarounds the band’s logistics providers are undertaking on a meticulously-planned 7,200-mile journey suggest trucking is far from using cleaner fuels in regular operations. The tour workhorses will be 10 heavy-duty trucks powered by renewable natural gas—such as methane from landfills—and four heavy-duty trucks running on biodiesel or hydrogenated vegetable oil

• J.B. Hunt President Shelley Simpson says electrifying trucking would require vast amounts of new electric output in the U.S. (Truck News)
• Prologis and Maersk-owned Performance Team opened a charging station near Southern California’s ports with capacity for 96 trucks. (DC Velocity)

Boeing’s supply-chain woes are turning into a cash problem. A month after announcing it burned through nearly $4 billion in the year’s first quarter, the aircraft manufacturer says it is on track for a similar or worse hit this period. The WSJ’s Sharon Terlep reports that CFO Brian West told investors that Boeing is also unlikely to generate cash for the full year as it deals with cascading production and supply-chain issues. That is a bleaker picture than the company faced a month ago, and it comes as Boeing is grappling with slower production of its bestselling 737 MAX jets while it roots out quality issues. Parts shortages are contributing to the problems, and Boeing’s monthly jet deliveries in April hit their lowest level since the onset of the pandemic. Boeing’s cash burn could cast a cloud over its supply chain as suppliers wrestle with the declining output.

• Saudi Arabia’s national airline ordered more than 100 new Airbus narrow-body jets. (Associated Press)

Measures of business activity in the U.S. and in the eurozone both gained momentum in May. (WSJ)

Singapore’s economic growth accelerated in the first quarter on improving trade. (WSJ)

Norfolk Southern agreed to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to resolve the federal investigation into the February 2023 train derailment in Ohio. (WSJ)

Smartphone sales at Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi jumped 33% last quarter. (WSJ)

The U.S. won’t charge Merck KGaA’s North American unit after it disclosed a scheme to export sensitive biochemicals to China. (WSJ)

Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric and auto parts supplier Aisin plan a joint venture for electric and hybrid vehicle components. (Nikkei Asia)

Major container lines reported combined profits of $5.4 billion in the first quarter following a collective loss in the previous quarter. (gCaptain)

Wan Hai Lines warned “a war for containers” is underway at Asian ports as shipping diversions disrupt box supplies. (The Loadstar)

Cosco Shipping is weighing an order for 120 new cargo vessels, largely bulk carriers, to address a “structural undersupply of tonnage.” (TradeWinds)

CSX reopened its largest coal export facility at the Port of Baltimore. (Progressive Railroading)

Roll-on, roll-off shipments through Georgia’s Port of Brunswick jumped 44% in April as auto business was diverted from the Port of Baltimore. (Columbus Ledger-Enquirer)

Truck drivers at a Kroger fulfillment center outside Detroit joined the Teamsters union. (Supermarket News)

Retailer Boot Barn plans to open 900 stores in the U.S. by 2030. (Footwear News)

Silicon Valley food supply chain technology startup Silo laid off nearly a third of its staff. (TechCrunch)

Russia is suggesting redrawing Baltic Sea borders to give the country control of a larger area. (BBC)

• Once derided as tree-huggers, chief sustainability officers have seen their role evolve from a backroom marketing function to being key figures in a company’s operations.
• More marketers are tapping into modern fears and discomforts, rather than selling consumers the perfect life. Technology is a growing target.
• Investors are using shareholder proposals to drag corporations into U.S. political and cultural fights, but legal challenges could allow big companies to shut them down.
• Private lenders are getting choosy in today’s high-interest-rate environment about which businesses to rescue, abandoning a bet against a quick drop in rates.

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.