That chatbot you’ve been chuckling over wants to know more about your supply chain. Big logistics technology providers are ramping up research on the new field of artificial intelligence, the tech known as generative AI. The WSJ Logistics Report’s Liz Young reports that companies including Blue Yonder, SAP and Manhattan Associates are looking at how the tool can improve forecasting, procurement, inventory management and even the nuts and bolts of shipping decisions. The tech has gotten the public’s attention through OpenAI’s popular ChatGPT program. But software executives say the technology underpinning generative AI offers a potential tool for digesting vast amounts of data and providing conclusions quickly. That makes it a natural step for advancing AI, although experts caution that integration with supply-chain management tools may be years away. Or, as ChatGPT puts it, “like any innovative solution, it comes with its own set of challenges.”

Tesla is no longer struggling to get its supply chain to meet demand. First-quarter profit at the heavyweight in the electric-vehicle field fell 24%, the WSJ’s Rebecca Elliot reports, as a wave of price cuts crumpled the company’s operating margin and dented the bottom line. Tesla still counted a $2.5 billion profit, and its 11.4 % operating margin is still far ahead of its biggest rivals in the auto sector in the U.S. But the automaker is showing signs of being hit by growing competition in its EV market, and the supply chain that it once had difficulty getting into gear is now churning in overdrive. Tesla delivered 422,875 vehicles in the first quarter, up 36% from the year before. It also produced almost 18,000 more vehicles than it delivered to customers in the first quarter, one reason that it continues to cut prices.

• Pepsico ordered two electric trucks from Sweden’s Einride for operations in central England. (CNBC)
• The world’s largest battery producer is researching a sodium-ion battery to power electric vehicles. (WSJ)
• Chinese automakers expect to overtake Japan as the world’s top car exporting nation​ this year. (South China Morning Post)
• Global automakers are boosting production of electric vehicles in China, hedging against the risk of supply chain disruptions amid tensions with the U.S. (Nikkei Asia)
• Jaguar Land Rover plans to build a battery plant in the U.K. or Spain as part of a $15 billion commitment to electric vehicles. (Financial Times)

U.S. lawmakers want to toughen the bars against imports from China’s Xinjiang region. Members of Congress say possible “loopholes” might be allowing goods from a largely proscribed region of China to enter the U.S. even as items are being halted at the border. The WSJ’s Richard Vanderford reports that U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it has stopped nearly $1.1 billion in goods with possible links to Xinjiang since an anti-forced labor law blocking many imports went into force last year. To some lawmakers, that suggests companies are still trying to ship prohibited goods from the region. The law has raised the profile of trade compliance in supply chains, and companies still appear to be figuring it out. Customs data shows the agency has denied entry to 490 of 3,588 shipments stopped for inspection, while 1,778 are still under review, and the rest have been released into the U.S.

• Two subsidiaries of Seagate Technology Holdings will pay $300 million for violating export restrictions placed on China’s Huawei Technologies. (WSJ)

Consumer inflation in the U.K. pulled back slightly in March to a 10.1% annual rate. (WSJ)

Retailer Bed Bath & Beyond is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection in the next few days. (WSJ)

Rite Aid’s cash reserves are dwindling and sales are slowing ahead of the drugstore chain’s fourth-quarter earnings. (WSJ)

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing is pushing back on some of the conditions attached to U.S. subsidies as it looks for up to $15 billion in support. (WSJ)

International spirits brands that halted supplies of premium liquor to Russia have lost control over whether their stock is sold there. (Bloomberg)

The European Parliament approved regulations to bring the shipping sector under the bloc’s emissions trading system. (TradeWinds)

South Korea’s HMM is testing the use of carbon capture technology on container ships. (Seatrade Maritime)

Bimco says prices for secondhand crude tankers have hit their highest level in 25 years. (Splash 247)

Walmart is adding trucks powered by 15-liter compressed natural gas engines to its fleet as part of its zero-emissions drive. (Progressive Grocer)

Japanese freight forwarder Nippon Express is in talks to acquire Austria's Cargo-Partner. (Logistics Insider)

Amazon opened a 1 million-square-foot fulfillment center outside Kansas City, Mo., to handle big and bulky items. (Supply Chain Dive)

FedEx Express opened a European road hub in the Dutch city of Duiven. (Logistics Manager)

BNSF Railway and Norfolk Southern reached new agreements with unionized workers covering sick leave. (Railway Age)

A Mediterranean Shipping container ship rescued a 17-year-old paddleboarder who had been blown out to sea far off the coast of Portugal. (Maritime Executive)

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.