Amazon is undertaking a big shift in its logistics network as it tries to get goods to customers faster and improve profitability. The company is reducing how far packages travel across the U.S., cutting delivery times and overhauling its inventory management. The WSJ’s Sebastian Herrera reports the efforts are aimed at resetting the enormous expansion that Amazon engineered during the pandemic, as it hired warehouse workers and roughly doubled its U.S. fulfillment space in two years. Now, Amazon is trying to reduce spending by cutting back on some excess. But it also believes it can speed up delivery times by shifting from a national model to a regional strategy, with eight zones that are designed to work self-sufficiently. Amazon so far has cut distances for shipments and reduced “touches,” or how often a package is handled, by about 12%. The pace of growth in shipping costs is also slowing.

• Prices for consumer goods sold online declined in April for the eighth straight month. (Retail Dive)
• Walmart through its Flipkart acquisition is beating Amazon in the battle for online consumers in India. (Nikkei Asia)
• A worker died in an accident at an Amazon warehouse in Fort Wayne, Ind. (Inside Indiana Business)

Electrical and automation products giant Schneider Electric is working to bring suppliers along on its regional manufacturing strategy. The France-based company is shifting some of its production closer to the U.S. from factories in Asia and Europe, the WSJ Logistics Report’s Liz Young writes, including new sites in Texas and Mexico that will add to its 35 factories and distribution centers across North America. Schneider Electric instead will have its factories in Asia and Europe produce goods for customers within those regions. It’s the latest sign of the growing regionalization of production, with companies looking to reduce risk after pandemic-era disruptions highlighted the gaps in far-flung supply chains. Schneider supply-chain leader Javed Ahmad says it’s encouraging suppliers to locate in the region to bring parts and raw materials closer to final production. He says it needs an ecosystem of suppliers, including “transport guys,” to make the strategy work.

Logistics startups are feeling the pinch as investors tighten up on funding. Venture-capital companies that piled into supply chains in recent years are growing more cautious this year with seed and mid-stage investments. The WSJ Logistics Report’s Paul Berger writes the restraint comes as higher interest rates and concerns over the direction of the U.S. economy take a toll on investment decisions. Pitchbook Data says venture firms have concluded 21 logistics funding deals this year for a total $400 million, a slowdown from the go-go markets of the past two years that puts venture funding on track to be closer to the annual levels of 2018 and 2019. The leaner backing suggests the urgency in the market has dimmed as pandemic disruptions have eased. Much of the big investment since 2020 has gone to logistics tech startups with new tools aimed at untangling snarled supply chains.

• The European Investment Bank is providing nearly $44 million in backing for German drone startup Wingcopter. (TechCrunch) 

The U.K. economy eked out 0.1% growth in the first three months of the year. (Dow Jones Newswires)

A measure of U.S. consumer confidence fell this month to a six-month low. (MarketWatch)

The cost of U.S. imported goods rose in April for the first time this year. (MarketWatch)

An auto-parts manufacturer is rejecting a demand that it recall 67 million air-bag inflators that federal regulators say are unsafe. (WSJ)

Southwest Airlines pilots voted to authorize a strike. (WSJ)

India’s Tata Group is set to become Apple’s fourth iPhone contract manufacturer with orders for phones launching next year. (South China Morning Post)

Taiwan’s ProLogium is building a $5.6 billion electric-vehicle battery plant in France near Dunkirk. (Financial Times)

Vietnamese electric-vehicle maker VinFast plans a public listing in the U.S. through a SPAC. (Reuters)

French drinks company Pernod Ricard is reversing course and halting all exports of its brands to Russia. (Agence France-Presse) 

Taiwan’s Port of Kaohsiung opened its first fully automated container terminal. (Container Management)

APM Terminals plans to build two additional container terminals at Brazilian seaports as part of a $1 billion investment in the country. (Seatrade Maritime)

U.S. Xpress cut its corporate staff for the third time in the past year after the truckload carrier’s first-quarter loss more than tripled to $27.1 million. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

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.