A U.S. shale boom that helped fuel surging oil exports over recent years is waning. The country’s crude oil output is expected to increase by just 170,000 barrels a day in 2024 from last year, down from a jump of 1 million barrels a day in 2023. The WSJ’s Bob Henderson reports the increase is the smallest annual gain since 2016, not counting the pandemic. Last year, the U.S. produced an estimated 12.9 million barrels of oil a day, making it the world’s biggest producer and one of the top exporters. That helped cap oil prices despite OPEC production cuts and global turmoil. But declining oil prices led producers to lay down rigs, and many drillers have been acquired by bigger players who prioritize returning cash to shareholders over drilling new wells. The number of oil rigs operating in the U.S. has dropped nearly 20% since the end of 2022.

The path around U.S. automotive tariffs goes through Mexico. Chinese automaker BYD is scouting locations across the country for a factory that would be a launch point for shipments into the U.S. The WSJ’s River Davis, Ryan Felton and Selina Cheng report the plan shows rising enthusiasm in China’s fast-growing car industry for expansion to North America, despite political risks. China’s auto sector is already pushing into Mexico in response to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal encouraging carmakers in North America to use locally sourced content. At least a dozen Chinese electric-vehicle parts suppliers have announced new factories or added to their investments there in recent years. BYD’s Mexico plan is part of a broader exporting strategy that has seen its low-price EVs gain traction in places including Europe and Southeast Asia. Western automakers have become more vocal about the potential threat these Chinese firms pose to their own EV plans.

• French auto parts supplier Forvia is cutting up to 10,000 jobs as it navigates a global automotive shift to electric vehicles. (WSJ)
• Lithium giant Albemarle downgraded its 2030 demand forecast for the metal on a slowing shift to electric vehicles. (Financial Times)
• Tesla is establishing a large logistics park south of Austin, Texas, that will include warehousing and light manufacturing. (Business Journals)

Producer prices in the U.S. rose in January at the fastest pace in five months. (MarketWatch)

New housing starts in the U.S. fell last month to the lowest level since August 2023. (MarketWatch)

The Great Lakes are nearly ice-free this winter but cargo vessels remain outside the waterways because locks are closed for the season. (WSJ)

Apparel supplier Nike is cutting about 1,600 jobs. (WSJ)

Houthi missiles struck a bulk vessel at the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb, forcing the crew to abandon ship. (The Guardian)

A Houthi missile strike appeared to hit a “dark fleet” tanker carrying Russian crude to India. (Lloyd’s List)

Several dry-bulk vessel operators have started routing ships around the Red Sea as insurance costs on the route have surged. (ShippingWatch)

A Moody’s report says retailers face potentially higher shipping costs from disruptions at the Red Sea and the Panama Canal. (DC Velocity)

State-owned Ukrainian Danube Shipping plans to launch container shipping at Danube River ports. (Maritime Executive)

Japanese financial services company Orix is buying shipowner Santoku Senpaku in a deal valued at $2 billion. (Splash 247)

U.S. regulators are reviewing allegations that terminal operator Holt Logistics is engaging in uncompetitive behavior affecting truckers at the Port of Philadelphia. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Two Saudi investment firms took a combined majority stake in financially ailing retailer The Children’s Place. (MarketWatch)

Workers at a factory in India run by Apple supplier Flex staged a one-day strike. (Reuters)

Amazon is shutting its freight facility at the Kelly Field Airport in San Antonio, Texas. (San Antonio Express-News) 

Cleveland-Cliffs is closing a tin production facility in West Virginia after a regulatory ruling against tin tariffs. (Associated Press)

Silicon Valley truck technology companies Motive and Samsara are suing each other over accusations of intellectual property theft. (FleetOwner)

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.