U.S. importers are bracing for a new season of uncertainty as threats of a walkout at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports flare even before contract talks with dockworkers formally begin. The International Longshoremen’s Association is seeking to build on the strong wage gains other transportation unions have won, including the deal for a 32% increase at West Coast ports that was struck last year. The WSJ Logistics Report’s Paul Berger writes the union directed local chapters to resolve their work issues by May 17, and negotiations for a new coast-wide deal would get underway after that. ILA chief Harold Daggett has said that dockworkers will strike if a new agreement can’t be reached before the current contract expires Sept. 30. Ocean carriers expect retailers to start bringing goods in early or ship more volumes out of Asia to the West Coast to avoid potential disruption.

Boeing’s practices on its assembly lines are coming under scrutiny as authorities look at potential flaws across the supply chain for the aircraft manufacturer’s 737. Federal investigators say a jet that saw a door-sized hole blow out of the fuselage midflight had spent time at the factory with faulty rivets in need of repair. The WSJ’s Sharon Terlep reports that workers had spotted the bad parts almost immediately after the plane’s fuselage arrived at the factory, but that the plane was moved along for actions on the critical bolts later. Boeing calls operations completed out of the production line’s ordinary sequence “traveled work,” The plane maker has tried to eliminate the practice because it complicates the already intricate, often-taxing process of putting together an airplane. But it also keeps the production line moving when delays of even a few days can have a cascading and expensive impact.

• Authorities in New Zealand are investigating a midair incident that injured passengers on a Boeing 787 operated by Latam Airlines traveling to Auckland. (WSJ)

A measure of employment trends suggests the U.S. labor market weakened slightly in February. (WSJ)

Ford will pay $365 million to settle charges that it skirted import duties on some vehicles over several years. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Australia is abolishing “nuisance” tariffs on close to 500 imported goods ranging from toothbrushes to washing machines. (WSJ)

Criminal gangs forced the closure of the main port at Haiti’s capital and have halted the flow of goods by sea, air and land. (Washington Post)

New research shows U.S. Gulf Coast ports face the highest risk among coastal gateways from rising sea levels. (TradeWinds)

China’s ZPMC says the container cranes it builds “do not pose a cybersecurity risk to any ports.” (Splash 247)

SeaCube Container Leasing CEO Bob Sappio says the company is looking at moving some manufacturing of refrigerated containers out of China. (The Loadstar)

A federal judge dismissed a Norfolk Southern suit seeking to share cleanup costs from last year’s East Palestine, Ohio, derailment with railcar owners and a chemical maker. (Trains)

Walmart is combining all the elements of its automation plans for the first time at its 740,000-square-foot distribution center outside Dallas. (Dallas Morning News)

Alabama-based trucker PS Logistics acquired Illinois-based flatbed specialist Yordy Transport. (Commercial Carrier Journal)

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.