Norfolk Southern is getting support from an unlikely corner in its proxy battle with an activist investor. Labor groups that have threatened strikes in recent years are defending the railroad as Ancora Holdings seeks to oust Norfolk Southern’s leadership. The WSJ’s Esther Fung reports that union leaders are speaking up because their members have seen safety and morale improve under CEO Alan Shaw and worry a management shake-up will reverse these gains. Ancora has also said Norfolk Southern should undertake precision scheduled railroading with more rigor. That has rankled union workers and regulators who say that PSR has undercut rail service. Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin Oberman says Ancora’s criticism “shows a lack of understanding of moving freight around the country.” Still, Norfolk Southern’s shares declined more than its rivals last year, and some operating metrics show it has been less efficient than its peers.

• Federal safety officials are investigating a derailment involving three Norfolk Southern trains in eastern Pennsylvania. (CNN)
• Canadian National remains committed to a proposed container  facility near Toronto after a court ruled against federal approval for the project. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Setting up supply chains in the U.S. is proving more complicated for Asian electronics manufacturers than simply picking out sites for new factories. Companies including Panasonic, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and Samsung Electronics are wrestling with soaring construction costs for the plants, and some are putting highly touted projects on hold. The WSJ’s River Davis reports that prices related to the construction of new industrial buildings at the end of last year were roughly a third higher than they were three years earlier. Steel prices alone have jumped 70% since 2020, one reason Panasonic has burned through a large portion of its initial budget for a $4 billion electric-vehicle battery plant in Kansas. The costs have also troubled some U.S. manufacturers, including Intel. But experts say some foreign manufacturers lured to the U.S. by Biden administration subsidy programs are troubling after designing budgets based on prices before the construction boom.

• Tesla is in talks with Thailand about placing a production site there. (Reuters)
• Japanese trading house Mitsubishi is teaming with a Canadian miner to develop a lithium mine in Ontario. (Nikkei Asia)

Whirlpool is trying to turn the economies of scale equation on its head in the appliance business. The company associated with home-appliance bruisers like washing machines and refrigerators is looking to cut costs and focus on selling blenders and coffee makers. The WSJ’s Jennifer Williams reports the move is Whirlpool’s latest effort to overhaul its more than century-old business as consumers pull back on large purchases following the upheaval of the pandemic. The company now is going small, pinning its hopes on high-margin small kitchen appliances, after navigating recent dramatic swings in demand for big-ticket items. The strategy will shift Whirlpool’s shipping profile somewhat, with higher volumes of small devices moving through its supply chain. The company is undertaking a bigger shift in its supply chain by divesting its appliance business in the Europe, Middle East and North Africa region, which accounts for about 20% of revenue.

Sales of new cars and pickup trucks in the U.S. rose 5.4% in February. (MarketWatch)

The Port of Rotterdam will test quantum technology to secure communications at one Europe’s biggest trade gateways. (WSJ)

Electric-truck maker Nikola named former Eaton finance executive Thomas Okray as its chief financial officer. (WSJ)

JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines called off a planned merger that had drawn sharp antitrust concerns. (WSJ)

A Houthi rocket attack triggered a fire on a containership in the Gulf of Aden. (Bloomberg)

Annual pre-tax profit at British shipping services firm Clarkson rose 8.2% last year to a record $137.7 million. (MarketWatch)

New York-listed Capital Product Partners is selling off its containerships as it moves toward managing only liquefied natural gas carriers. (Splash 247)

The Port of Virginia opened a widened shipping channel that allows for two-way traffic for large containerships. (Maritime Executive)

Canadian startup Veer is preparing to order its first zero-emission containership, with capacity for 150 20-foot boxes. (TradeWinds)

A member of trucker Werner Enterprise’s board resigned in part over the trucker’s “unquestioned dedication” to social responsibility and governance goals. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Logistics consultants Bluspark acquired the technology assets of troubled supply-chain software firm Slync. (Journal of Commerce)

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.