Norfolk Southern is bolstering its board as it seeks to fend off a shareholder-activist group waging a proxy battle against the freight railroad. The company is looking to add former Amtrak and airline executive Richard Anderson and former U.S. senator Mary Kathryn “Heidi” Heitkamp to its board of directors as investor group Ancora Holdings presses its own effort to overhaul Norfolk Southern’s leadership through its roughly $1 billion stake in the carrier. The WSJ’s Lauren Thomas reports Ancora’s slate of new directors includes former Ohio Gov. John Kasich and that it wants to install former United Parcel Service executive Jim Barber and former CSX official Jamie Boychuk in the top two management posts. Norfolk Southern warns in its proxy materials that Boychuk has a reputation for extreme cost-cutting. That’s a potentially precarious path for the railroad, which faces intense regulatory scrutiny over a toxic train derailment early last year. 

• BNSF Railway’s fourth-quarter revenue dropped 6% as a 7% decline in average revenue per car offset a 4% gain in volume. (Progressive Railroading)

Communities that became logistics-driven boomtowns during the e-commerce surge now face a tough question: What do you do when the boom ends? The dilemma is especially pressing in California’s central valley, where San Joaquin County has seen logistics change the region’s working landscape. The WSJ’s David Harrison reports everything changed there after Amazon opened its first warehouse in 2013, touching off a land rush as major retailers vied for space to fill online orders from the San Francisco Bay area. But transportation and warehouse employment is down nationally, and the decline is particularly steep in Stockton, Calif., where payrolls in the sector were down 5.4% in December. County leaders are responding by trying to upgrade local skills and diversify into less vulnerable sectors. One hope is to prepare workers for better-paying careers repairing the warehouse robots that are grabbing some of those jobs or in other manufacturing careers.

U.S. regulators are moving to block Kroger’s $25 billion bid for rival Albertsons, throwing into uncertainty the fate of one of the largest supermarket deals in history. The Federal Trade Commission says the acquisition would lead to higher food prices and lower wages for workers despite the companies’ plan to sell hundreds of stores. The WSJ’s Patrick Thomas and Dave Michaels report the companies argue the combination would have the opposite effect by making their operations more cost-efficient and better able to compete with Amazon, Walmart and Costco. The deal has been opposed by some farm groups because of its potential impact on supply chains. The tie-up aims to bolster the grocers’ scale, technology, and leverage in negotiations with suppliers. To try to alleviate antitrust concerns, Kroger and Albertsons agreed to sell 413 stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers, one of the sector's biggest suppliers.

• Specialty grocer Sprouts Farmers Market plans to accelerate its expansion by opening 35 stores this year. (Progressive Grocer)

Sales of newly-built homes in the U.S. inched up 1.5% in January. (MarketWatch)

Canada’s wholesale trade slipped in January on declining agriculture and petroleum sales. (Dow Jones Newswires)

A panel of government and industry experts says Boeing’s push to improve its safety culture after two 737 MAX crashes is falling short. (WSJ)

Alcoa is moving to cement its position as a top bauxite and alumina producer by making a $2.2 billion offer to buy Australia’s Alumina. (WSJ)

The U.S. imposed new sanctions on Russian oil-shipping giant Sovcomflot. (Bloomberg)

China says a U.S. port cybersecurity initiative focused on Chinese-manufactured cranes is “entirely paranoia.” (Maritime Executive)

U.S. maritime regulators set new rules for disputes over detention and demurrage charges. (The Loadstar)

The Panama Canal’s revenues jumped 14.9% in 2023 despite drought restrictions. (Seatrade Maritime)

Teekay Tankers believes an oil pipeline extension to Canada’s west coast could bring demand for 30 mid-sized Aframax tanker loadings each month. (TradeWinds)

GXO approached Wincanton about making a buyout offer for the U.K. logistics provider while rival Ceva Logistics increased its bid. (Sky News)

European regulators approved CMA CGM’s proposed acquisition of Bolloré Logistics. (Air Cargo News)

Nikola more than doubled its fourth-quarter revenue to $11.5 million as it seeks to ramp up truck production this year. (FleetOwner)

Last week’s selloff of Rivian Automotive stock shaved the value of Amazon’s investment in the electric-vehicle maker by nearly $1 billion. (MarketWatch)

Amazon will pay more than 700 migrant workers a total of roughly $1.9 million to settle claims they suffered human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia. (Quartz)

Companies that have been stockpiling Nvidia’s prized AI semiconductors say a supply crunch is easing. (The Information)

Swiss chocolatier Barry Callebaut is cutting nearly 20% of its workforce as part of a strategic overhaul. (Dow Jones Newswires)

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.