A long-running labor battle over the first big new container terminal in the U.S. in several years reached the legal end of the road. The U.S. Supreme Court won’t hear a case brought by South Carolina’s ports authority in a dispute with the dockworkers’ union over staffing at the new Leatherman Terminal. The WSJ Logistics Report’s Paul Berger writes the rejection lets stand a lower-court ruling that effectively pushes the Port of Charleston to use an all-union labor force at the site. The South Carolina Ports Authority says it will now work with the International Longshoremen’s Association to resolve the standoff that has hamstrung operations at the facility. Leatherman is a linchpin for efforts to expand handling capacity at the East Coast’s No. 4 port. The decision gives the ILA a victory as the union prepares to negotiate a new contract this year with East and Gulf coast ports.

• The Port of Oakland’s biggest container terminal is adding a third daily shift to cope with a mounting ship backlog. (Journal of Commerce)

The not-in-my-backyard movement in the U.S. is reaching deeper into the logistics sector. More local governments are restricting or even banning new logistics hubs that have mushroomed throughout the country to meet the needs of online retailers. The WSJ’s Peter Grant reports that the latest flap comes in the village of Deerfield, Ill., north of Chicago, where officials are preparing to raise still higher the existing bars to new warehouse development. Warehouses that store industrial supplies for local plumbers, for instance, could still get permits. But sites designed for the constant rumbling of trucks of consumer goods won’t proceed in Deerfield. It’s the latest sign of the tension between the push toward rapid delivery that underpins online commerce and the impact on local communities. That is also complicating plans for industrial conversion projects aimed at finding uses for aging corporate campuses and empty suburban office parks.

• Colliers says developers completed 33 million square feet of new big-box warehouses in the Chicago area in 2023, up from 25 million the year before. (Chicago Tribune)
• Legislation in Pennsylvania would give voters the final say over allowing new high-impact warehouses should be in their communities. (York Daily Record)

Construction of a new electric-vehicle supply chain is stalling on faltering consumer sales and tumbling prices for the sector’s bedrock minerals. Lithium giant Albemarle is deferring spending on a high-profile project to build a processing plant and Swiss mining and trading giant Glencore suspended work on a nickel mine and processing plant and is now seeking a buyer for a stake in the project. The WSJ’s Rhiannon Hoyle and Julie Steinberg report that producers of nickel and lithium, which are used in lithium-ion batteries for EVs, have been pulling back and looking to save cash after a painfully quick fall in commodity prices. The world is suddenly awash with the metals after producers ramped up projects to feed the global EV industry and sales of the vehicles have been losing momentum. Some policymakers fear the curtailed plans will derail recent efforts to diversify critical supply chains away from China.

• Seaborne spot supplies of benchmark compounds lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide now cost roughly what they did in mid-2021. (WSJ)

The index for leading economic indicators in the U.S. fell in January for the 22nd month in a row. (MarketWatch)

An investor group led by Ancora Holdings is seeking to overhaul management at Norfolk Southern and replace CEO Alan Shaw with former UPS COO Jim Barber. (WSJ)

Walmart’s comparable-store sales increased as inflation pressure on shoppers eased. (WSJ)

Home Depot issued a downbeat outlook for the year after U.S. same-store sales dropped 4% last quarter. (MarketWatch)

Walmart reached a deal to buy television maker Vizio for $2.3 billion. (WSJ)

Expeditors International’s fourth quarter operating profit fell 40% to $199.4 million as gross revenue dropped 34% to $2.3 billion. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Coca-Cola sustainability chief Bea Perez says in an interview that disclosure and managing the connections between goals are central to achieving progress. (WSJ)

Ocean Network Express’s Jeremy Nixon says shipping lines are struggling with scheduling and ship shortages because of the Red Sea crisis. (Financial Times)

A group of investors took ownership of Singapore-based liner company SeaLead and is bringing in new management. (Splash 247)

The U.S. Air Force is testing the use of autonomous cargo aircraft. (DC Velocity)

Airbus is ramping up development of an A350 freighter that it expects to start delivering in 2026. (Air Cargo News)

Estes Express Lines plans to use its acquisition of former Yellow truck terminals to expand U.S.-Canada cross-border business. (Trucking Dive)

Ohio-based logistics provider Total Distribution acquired the Swafford Cos. trucking and warehousing assets. (Commercial Carrier Journal)

Freight forwarder Blue Water Shipping reversed its stance on Russian transport​ and will offer services on the country’s state-owned railway. (ShippingWatch)

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.