Ship backups that plagued seaports during the Covid pandemic are making a comeback, raising concerns about new delays and higher costs during this year’s peak shipping season. Flotillas of containerships and bulk carriers are forming off the coasts of Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and China while ports in Spain and other parts of Europe look to dig out from container piles. The WSJ’s Costas Paris and Paul Berger report the backups are the result of vessel diversions because of attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on commercial ships in the Red Sea that have disrupted shipping schedules and left shipments and sea containers out of sync. The snags are complicating logistics for retail and manufactured goods, but the bigger concern is that backups could expand as demand picks up heading into the busy peak shipping season. Experts say some shippers are already booking earlier to get ahead of the congestion.

• Ikea wants to boost production in the U.S. and the Americas because of escalating shipping disruption and a “permanent shift” away from seamless global trade. (Financial Times)
• Drewry says new capacity inserted in container shipping lanes out of Asia is being completely absorbed by growing demand and longer voyages. (Journal of Commerce)

A deadly gap has formed in the supply chain for after-market automotive parts. Authorities say they are tracking growing incidents involving counterfeit air bags in automobiles, including at least five in the past year that have triggered deaths or serious injuries. The WSJ’s Ryan Felton reports the unusually high number comes as federal regulators have been cracking down on the growing problem, including an indictment in May of two individuals alleged to have sold thousands of unauthorized air bags that were listed on eBay as in brand-new condition. The recent activity is reviving concerns about counterfeit air bags entering the U.S. illegally and making their way into vehicles. Counterfeiters are getting more sophisticated in dodging U.S. authorities. Rather than ship fully built modules to the U.S., they are increasingly turning to small parcel packages to send pirated parts individually, making them tougher to detect, and assembling them afterward.

United Parcel Service is selling its Coyote Logistics freight brokerage business to RXO for $1.025 billion. (WSJ)

Private measures of business activity in the U.S. expanded this month at the fastest pace in two years while Europe showed signs of a slowdown. (WSJ)

The index for leading U.S. economic indicators slipped in May but remained above levels signaling a recession. (MarketWatch)

Bankrupt electric-vehicle startup Fisker plans to liquidate and sell its remaining fleet to a leasing company. (WSJ)

Airbus is nearing a deal with Spirit AeroSystems to take over parts of the aerospace supplier’s work, paving the way for Boeing to purchase the rest of the group. (Reuters)

U.S. regulators have yet to certify a passenger-to-freighter conversion program for Boeing 777 aircraft. (The Loadstar)

Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing plans to put digital tracking technology in its supplier factories to help prevent its stores from running out of hot items. (Nikkei Asia)

Amazon is replacing plastic air pillows with recycled paper for packaging in North America due to environmental concerns. (Associated Press)

The damaged Dali containership is due to be moved under escort to Norfolk, Va., in the coming days from the Port of Baltimore. (Baltimore Sun)

Daily rates for crude tankers are tumbling to loss-making levels on dimming demand. (TradeWinds)

Norway is providing $114 million to help companies including Hoegh Autoliners acquire clean-energy ships. (Maritime Executive)

Port terminal operator DP World opened a 600,000-square-foot warehouse in Coventry, U.K. (FruitNet)

BNSF Railway plans to develop a logistics park alongside a large intermodal facility outside Phoenix. (Progressive Railroading)

Retailers Bob’s Stores and Eastern Mountain Sports jointly filed for bankruptcy protection. (Retail Dive)

Activewear firm Delta Apparel is halting some manufacturing operations as it copes with liquidity challenges. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Forever 21 is looking for rent concessions from its landlords as the retailer struggles with falling sales at its 380 stores. (CNBC)

Sidney Brown, the CEO of trucking company NFI, was among people indicted in an investigation of alleged political corruption in New Jersey. (CBS)

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.