The electric-vehicle supply chain that’s proven so difficult to ramp up now appears to be contracting. Market leader Tesla just reported its first year-over-year decline in quarterly deliveries since 2020, the WSJ’s Rebecca Elliott reports, with 386,810 vehicles globally in the first three months of 2024, down 8.5% from a year earlier. Potentially more troubling is that Tesla’s production also declined, to 433,371 vehicles, down from 440,808 in the first quarter of 2023. The gap between production and deliveries suggests there may be demand concerns for a company that was racing to scale up its supply chain just a few years ago. Wavering momentum in the market could ease the urgency to expand in the sprawling market for raw materials and batteries. Rivian Automotive says it delivered 13,588 vehicles in the first quarter, a decline from the previous quarter, as the upstart EV producer resets its supply chain.

• Smartphone maker Xiaomi plans to start delivering its first low-cost electric cars this week. (WSJ)

The problems with Line No. 8789 at Boeing’s plant in Renton, Wash., show a factory in disarray. The number was code for the 737 MAX jet that later lost its door plug panel in a near tragedy in flight. The WSJ’s Andrew Tangel and Sharon Terlep report that logs of internal communications show a production breakdown in an aircraft assembly operation in which crews were unable to keep a schedule and apparently didn’t follow procedures as delays piled up and pressure mounted. Records show the jet sat unfinished for a long time with damaged rivets while workers waded through layers of management to get the problem addressed. No documentation of the repair exists, however. The breakdowns came as Boeing was trying to increase production as aircraft deliveries fell short of targets. Since the blowout, regulators have criticized Renton factory operations that appear to prize production schedules over safety and quality.

• Boeing is investing in India as an emerging hub for research and development and for supply chain services. (Nikkei Asia)
• Japan is seeking to develop its own commercial airliner to address challenges in its aerospace industry. (FlightGlobal)

Orders for manufactured goods in the U.S. rebounded 1.4% in February after two straight monthly declines. (MarketWatch)

Conditions in Australia’s factory sector deteriorated in March at the fastest pace since May 2020. (WSJ)

Power and renewable-energy business GE Vernova completed its separation from GE Aerospace. (WSJ)

PVH says wholesale partners in Europe such as department stores are placing fewer orders with the Calvin Klein owner. (WSJ)

Europe’s winter ended with record levels of natural gas in storage. (Financial Times)

Samsung Electronics America filed regulatory complaints against Cosco Shipping and OOCL over alleged “excessive and unlawful” storage charges. (The Loadstar)

Mediterranean Shipping added five used, mid-sized containerships to its rapidly growing fleet. (TradeWinds)

Retailer Big Lots opened procurement offices in China and Vietnam to step up its overseas sourcing. (Retail Dive)

Footwear maker Shoes for Crews filed for bankruptcy protection with plans to sell the business to lenders. (Bloomberg)

Supply-chain services provider Quantix acquired chemical logistics specialist CLX Logistics. (Bulk Transporter)

Danish building materials retailer Stark Group named former DSV CEO Jens Bjørn Andersen chairman. (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.