Flexport is turning its attention to trucking services as the freight forwarder pushes to establish a factory-to-door logistics operation. The digital-focused company followed up its purchase of Shopify’s logistics business with another aggressive acquisition, the WSJ Logistics Report’s Liz Young writes, this time luring Bill Driegert from Uber Freight to establish a freight brokerage for North American distribution. Driegert has been a pivotal figure in new brokerage operations, including earlier at Amazon.com and before that at Coyote Logistics. Flexport CEO Dave Clark, who worked with Driegert at Amazon, says the forwarder is opting to build the brokerage business rather than buy an existing company. Right now, Flexport works with Convoy and Nolan Transportation Group on the U.S. leg for its largely international shipments. The highly fragmented brokerage sector has been rife with mergers and acquisitions in recent years and Flexport’s entry could stir the market even more.

The line between private business and governments is blurring in semiconductor supply chains. Japan’s prime minister met with executives of Intel, TSMC, Samsung and other big chip makers, the WSJ’s Yang Jie and Megumi Fujikawa report, as the world’s industrial democracies look to deepen cooperation in the production of components they see as central to national security. The meeting on the eve of the summit of leaders of the Group of Seven nations highlights the urgency behind what Japan’s Fumio Kishida says is “the global issue of stabilizing supply chains.” The cooperation between the U.S., Taiwan, South Korea and Japan—sometimes called the “Fab Four” in semiconductor circles—shows how the chip business has become intertwined with government policies. The U.S. is pushing for “friend-shoring.” That means ensuring supply chains run mainly through friendly nations rather than the most convenient site in purely economic terms.

• Applied Materials expects sales to decline this quarter as it grapples with a memory-chip slump, (Bloomberg) 

Walmart’s sales are growing as the U.S. consumer economy appears to be stumbling. The retailer lifted its outlook for the full year after a first quarter that outpaced broader retail sales growth and suggested consumers are rushing toward lower-cost merchants. The WSJ’s Sarah Nassauer reports that Walmart’s 7.4% gain in same-store sales contrasts with reports from some retailers this week that signal wavering demand. Walmart also looks to be streamlining as sales grow. Walmart cut its U.S. inventories 9% from a year ago, when the rush to restock amid supply-chain disruptions left warehouses overstuffed. U.S. online sales growth climbed 27% over the last year, far outpacing expectations. And although online sales tend to have lower margins, operating income across company business units rose 17.3% from last year, roughly double the net sales growth rate. That signals Walmart’s e-commerce business has gotten more efficient and profitable.

• Discount apparel retailer Ross Stores projects “relatively flat” same-store sales for the year. (MarketWatch)

A recovery in China’s consumer economy isn’t clicking yet for the country’s big e-commerce companies. Market leader Alibaba’s revenue rose a soft 2% in the past quarter, but sales at the company’s bread-and-butter domestic e-commerce business dropped 3% year-over-year. The WSJ’s Shen Lu and Raffaele Huang report the results along with a soft quarter at rival JD.com underscore China’s weak postpandemic economic recovery. The results come at a pivot point for Alibaba. The company outlined how it will soon start carving out its units for public stock offerings. The Cainiao logistics operation is at the top of the list, with an IPO targeted in the next 12 to 18 months. The company also plans to list its grocery and fresh goods chain within a year and is looking for external backing to extend its international digital commerce operation into new locations and expand its supplier base. 

• Chinese online apparel retailer Shein plans to enter India through a partnership with the retail unit of conglomerate Reliance Industries. (WSJ)
• Southeast Asian app Grab slashed its quarterly loss as delivery revenue tripled to $275 million. (Straits Times)

The U.S. index of leading economic indicators fell in April for the 13th month in a row. (MarketWatch)

Sales of previously-owned homes in the U.S. fell 3.4% in April and prices fell at the steepest annual pace in more than 11 years. (WSJ)

An index of business activity in the Philadelphia region improved this month but remained in contraction. (MarketWatch)

The U.S. is facing a shortage of crucial pharmaceuticals, leading to rationing at hospitals and government efforts to relieve the supply shortfall. (New York Times)

Apple is working toward producing display screens to lessen its reliance on rival Samsung as a supplier. (Nikkei Asia)

Autonomous trucking company TuSimple is eliminating 300 jobs, or about 30% of the company’s workforce. (TechCrunch)

Some U.S. importers who shifted cargo away from West Coast ports​ because of labor uncertainty have started bringing business back. (Reuters)

South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries is contracting some shipbuilding work out to Chinese yards because its own facilities are so busy. (Splash 247)

The U.S. is allocating three Crowley-managed vessels to its tanker security program. (TradeWinds)

Mediterranean Shipping is moving to help develop an ammonia-fueled mid-sized container ship. (Lloyd’s List)

Ocean carrier Zim led an $8 million funding round for Israeli startup Spinframe and its technology platform for vehicle inspections. (CTech)

Royal Mail lost about $1.2 billion in the past year, partly due to strikes as the U.K. postal operator cut 10,000 jobs. (The Guardian)

More consolidation lies ahead for private equity as firms look to amass fee-generating assets.

Renewable-energy companies are leasing warehouses at a faster pace, boosting the otherwise sagging demand for industrial real estate.

Companies outside of the tech sector face an uphill climb in recruiting Big Tech’s laid-off software developers, engineers and data scientists.

Changes to how companies account for renewable energy may lift the veil on actual usage vs. credits bought to offset fossil-fuel use.

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 Twitter at @WSJLogistics.