Trucking supply and logistics demand increasingly look like they are moving in different lanes. Freight rates have been retreating this year in the sector’s spot and contract markets, signaling that a focus by shipping customers on keeping inventories tight is weighing on the business. The WSJ Logistics Report’s Paul Berger writes that truckers have been leaving the market in bigger numbers but not rapidly enough to make up for the shift in post-pandemic supply chain strategies. The capacity and pricing concerns are weighing on the sector as publicly traded carriers begin to report first-quarter earnings this week. Some analysts have lowered their outlooks for the big operators, but the greater impact may be on the smaller truckers that hold less leverage in a weaker market. Many of those ramped up to meet pandemic-driven demand, but they look out of step with retailers and manufacturers now focused on cutting logistics costs.

• Jacksonville, Fla.-based car hauler Proficient Auto Logistics filed for an initial public offering. (Dow Jones Newswires)
• Omers Private Equity is exploring an initial public offering for tank truck transporter Kenan Advantage Group. (Bloomberg)
• Freight broker Radiant Logistics acquired the operations of Minnesota-based brokerage Viking Worldwide. (Trucking Dive)

America’s pandemic-driven warehousing boom is losing momentum. Average asking rents for U.S. real estate flattened out to start the year, in a sign that the inventory retrenchment across the business world is reaching industrial real estate markets. The WSJ Logistics Report’s Liz Young writes that leasing rates are even falling in some markets and that warehouse owners are offering more concessions to fill up empty sites. That suggests prices are finally catching up to declining demand after vacancy rates started edging up over the past year. Average vacancy rates remain historically high at about 5.8%, but that’s far behind the 3% rate in the market just a couple of years ago, and asking rents are even falling in a Southern California Inland Empire region that was effectively full at one point. With new space coming online at a rapid pace, the imbalance between supply and demand may continue.

A deepening shortage of prescription drugs in the U.S. signals that problems in pharmaceutical supply chains are getting worse. Supplies are low for everything from lifesaving injections to diabetes medications, the WSJ’s Liz Essley Whyte and Peter Loftus report, with one measure showing that drugs now classified as in shortage are at the highest level in records going back to 2001. Although some brand-name drugs such as Ozempic are running short simply because their makers haven’t yet caught up with demand, health economists pin most shortages on a broken pharmaceutical supply chain that makes it difficult for generic drugmakers to make a profit and stay in business. There are few suppliers to pick up the slack in case of disruptions, and it isn’t easy to jump-start manufacturing of a particular drug, especially the sterile injectables that are so tricky to make and that hospitals use so often.

Iran seized an MSC containership in the Strait of Hormuz that is linked to a business partly owned by Israeli businessman Eyal Ofer. (WSJ)

China's export volumes rose 4.4% in the first quarter compared with the same period last year. (WSJ)

The cost of imported goods into the U.S. excluding oil edged up 0.1% in March. (MarketWatch)

A measure of U.S. consumer sentiment retreated in April from a 32-month high. (MarketWatch)

The Asian Development Bank raised its forecasts for economic expansion in the region this year. (WSJ)

U.S. Steel shareholders approved the sale of the storied company to Japan’s Nippon Steel. (WSJ)

China is having its telecom carriers phase out their use of foreign processors such as Intel and Advanced Micro Devices. (WSJ)

Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Steel plans to cut jobs and scale back production capacity amid weak demand and rising competition from Asia. (WSJ)

The owners of the Dali containership have declared general average, triggering the intent to share costs of the disaster in Baltimore. (Lloyd’s List)

South Korea’s Port of Busan opened a fully-automated container terminal. (Port Technology)

Four U.S. railroads filed court challenges against a regulatory mandate for two-person crews. (Associated Press)

Oakland officials voted to change the name of Oakland International Airport to San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport. (WSJ)

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.