Maersk Line is on a cost-cutting drive as it adjusts to a sharply contracting container-shipping market. Executives at parent A.P. Moeller-Maersk say the Danish operator is slowing down ships, reducing fuel consumption and looking for more ways to reduce expenses as freight demand slides and pricing leverage falters. The WSJ’s Costas Paris and Dominic Chopping report the carrier is responding to destocking efforts by its big retail customers that have cut into box volumes and sliced its quarterly net profit to $2.28 billion, from $6.78 billion last year. Maersk expects that inventory correction to finish by the end of the first half of the year, and CEO Vincent Clerc says some customers even now “are getting to the end of destocking.” The hangover from last year’s stockpiling is weighing on carriers in the meantime. Ocean Network Express recently reported its revenues dived 45% in its March quarter. 

• Bimco says the average sailing speed by container lines fell 4% in the first quarter from the year before. (Maritime Executive)

Greek tanker owners have doubled down on Russian oil after the U.S. and allies sanctioned Moscow’s prize export, and shipping tycoon George Economou has made the biggest bets of all. TMS Tankers, one of Mr. Economou’s operators, has transported tens of millions of barrels of Russia’s crude and fuel since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the WSJ’s Joe Wallace and Costas Paris write, putting TMS at the head of a group of Greek companies that collectively ship more oil than Moscow’s own state tanker company. The voyages bolster Russia’s budget, help keep global oil prices in check and mint money for shipowners. They have also made Mr. Economou a target of criticism in Ukraine. The ships aren’t part of the sanctions-defying “shadow fleet.” Instead, they operate along the seams of the sanctions, handling cargoes that are allowed as long as the price for the oil stays below a set threshold.

• Russia is expected to increase seaborne oil exports from its western ports this month to a four-year high to meet Asian demand. (Reuters)
• Tanker operator DHT swung to a $38 million first-quarter profit as net shipping revenues more than doubled. (Lloyd’s List)

Clouds are forming over one of the world’s signature consumer-electronics supply chains. Apple reported its second straight quarter of declining sales, the WSJ’s Aaron Tilley reports, as demand has waned for some of its products after reaching record levels during the pandemic. The company’s revenue slipped 3% in the three months ending April 1. Sales of iPhones edged up 1.5% but Mac and iPad sales retreated. Apple reported emerging markets such as India were a bright spot, but the report suggests that dimming consumer demand in major markets is weighing on the electronics and technology sector. Data group IDC says worldwide PC shipments contracted 29% in the first quarter, and worldwide semiconductor sales declined nearly 21% in February, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. The drop in demand for tech goods is particularly hard on the airfreight sector, which handles a big share of the high-value goods.

U.S. imports declined 0.3% in March, leaving inbound goods flows up 0.5% for the first quarter. (WSJ)

The number of new jobless claims in the U.S. rose by 13,000 last week. (MarketWatch)

The U.S. is increasing the number of flights Chinese carriers are allowed to fly to the country. (WSJ)

Canadian lawmakers approved a measure requiring companies to report on efforts to remove forced labor from their supply chains. (WSJ)

DoorDash sales surged 40% in the latest quarter and the food-delivery company narrowed its loss $161 million. (WSJ)

The largest U.S. grocery workers’ union opposes the planned $20 billion merger between Kroger and Albertsons. (WSJ)

The longshore union and employers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach agreed to staffing requirements at non-automated terminals. (Journal of Commerce)

CMA CGM unit Ceva Logistics will launch a car carrier service with four vessels. (gCaptain)

Airbus says the supply chain struggles gripping the global aerospace industry could last until next year. (Financial Times)

Aerospace supplier Spirit Aerosystems lost $281 million in the first quarter on persistent supply-chain problems. (FlightGlobal)

Lufthansa Cargo’s first-quarter adjusted operating earnings fell 70% to $166 million as revenues declined 30%. (Air Cargo News)

Atlas Air named Michael Steen CEO of the freighter operator and said CFO Spencer Schwartz will leave the company. (The Loadstar)

Bankrupt retailer Bed Bath & Beyond owes more than $45 million to Ryder Integrated Logistics. (Supply Chain Dive)

An environmental group is suing grain trader Cargill over alleged deforestation and human rights abuses in its soybean supply chain in Brazil. (The Guardian)

Trucker XPO plans to accelerate headcount reductions this year. (Transport Dive)

Bulky-goods specialist uShip named Heather Hoover-Salomon, a onetime intern at the business, as CEO from her interim CEO position. (Insider)

Supply Chains Have Changed Forever

Nearshoring. Automation. Supplier diversification. Sustainability. WSJ Pro takes a closer look at how companies are reshaping their logistics.

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.