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Pentagon Approaches Automakers; PPG Raises Prices; U.S. Plays Cat and Mouse With Shadow Fleet By Mark R. Long | WSJ Logistics Report

The Trump administration wants automakers and other U.S. manufacturers to play a larger role in weapons production, reminiscent of a practice from World War II, the WSJ's Sharon Terlep and Marcus Weisgerber write.

Senior defense officials have held talks about producing weapons

and other military supplies with the CEOs of several American manufacturers, including GM's Mary Barra and Ford's Jim Farley, according to people familiar with the discussions. GE Aviation and vehicle and machinery maker Oshkosh were also among the companies involved in the talks with defense officials.

The talks, which started before the Iran war, were preliminary and wide ranging, the people said. The Pentagon is interested in enlisting the companies to use their manpower and factory capacity to increase production of munitions and other equipment after the wars in Ukraine and Iran have depleted stocks.

Doug Field, an Apple and Tesla veteran who led Ford Motor's EV development, is leaving the automaker

amid a wider reorganization. (WSJ) Jeep maker Stellantis reported an estimated 12% increase in first-quarter vehicle shipments , driven by strong growth in North America and Europe. (WSJ) CONTENT FROM: PENSKE LOGISTICS Gain a Closer Look. Gain Ground With Penske Logistics.

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Building Materials

PPG is raising prices across all of its product lines and services by up to 20% as it contends with higher costs for raw materials , energy, logistics and packaging, the Journal's Kelly Cloonan writes.

The paints and coatings company said those cost pressures have been driven by recent volatility and supply constraints in the petrochemical, energy and transportation markets. The higher prices aim to ensure PPG can continue to supply its products, the company said.

PPG is implementing the price increases on a customer-by-customer basis, or as existing contracts allow. The company said it may hike prices further for certain products, technologies and regions to fully offset the increased costs.

Ocean Shipping

U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East, on Wednesday said no ships had evaded its blockade of Iranian ports in the first 48 hours since it began around 10 a.m. ET Monday. Nine vessels had complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around

and return to an Iranian port or coastal area.

As the blockade continues, a cat-and-mouse game is emerging

between the so-called shadow fleet of tankers and U.S. forces, the Journal's Jared Malsin and Joe Wallace write. At least 10 ships transited the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, according to Lloyd's List Intelligence, some with the hallmarks of shadow-fleet activity.

Ships with ties to Iran have so far had a better time getting into the Persian Gulf than out, possibly pointing to the difficulty the U.S. Navy might have in determining where a vessel is heading before it arrives. Military and shipping analysts said the movements showed how operators of shadow ships were trying to test the limits of the blockade and probing to see whether the U.S. would take action to enforce the closure.

Freight rates for tankers moving propane from the U.S. Gulf have surged to their highest in more than two years

on rising demand for cooking oil in India and Southeast Asia. Iran has abandoned intermediaries it used for decades

to sell its oil after a number of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officials who run "shadow fleet" operations were killed, according to Iranian state media. Pakistani authorities warned international airlines to carry maximum fuel supplies

when they fly into the country's Lahore and Karachi airports because of supply disruptions. Iran said it rejected a proposal

adopted by the United Nations' International Maritime Organization that called for a safe maritime corridor in the Strait of Hormuz to evacuate some 20,000 sailors and roughly 2,000 ships stuck in the Persian Gulf. Number of the Day In Other News U.S. import prices rose less than expected

in March from February and were driven by higher costs for fuel imports, Bureau of Labor Statistics data show. (WSJ) Confidence among U.S. home builders fell in April

as rising building materials prices, elevated interest rates and an increased economic uncertainty weighed during the spring buying season. (WSJ) China is preparing legal tools for tit-for-tat retaliation

against foreign companies it deems to be damaging its interests, ratcheting up pressure on the U.S. a month before Trump's scheduled trip to Beijing. (WSJ) A rebound in auto production helped drive a 3.6% rise in Canadian manufacturing

and wholesale sales in February, to the equivalent of about $51.7 billion. (WSJ) New York State factory activity picked up in April , with the Empire State Manufacturing Survey's headline index rising to 11 from minus 0.2 in March. (WSJ) Eurozone industrial output unexpectedly rose 0.4%

in February after a 0.8% fall in January, though production is likely to decline in the months because of higher energy prices. (WSJ) Maine lawmakers passed a ban on large data-center construction , making it the first state to enact such a measure. (WSJ) China told A.P. Moller-Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping Co. to stop operating two ports on the Panama Canal that they took over from Hong Kong's CK Hutchison amid a continuing dispute. (Financial Times) Caterpillar acquired Monarch Tractor, a startup making autonomous electric tractors . (Bloomberg) U.S. sales of Classes 4-7 medium-duty trucks fell 14.7% year-over-year to 17,019, the 14th straight monthly decline , according to Omdia Automotive. (Transport Topics) Transport company Prime Inc. plans to invest over $160 million in a new southeastern regional hub

in Georgia. (The Trucker) About Us

Mark R. Long is editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Reach him at [mark.long@wsj.com]. Follow the WSJ Logistics Report team on LinkedIn: Mark R. Long , Liz Young and Paul Berger .

This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 16, 2026 07:02 ET (11:02 GMT)

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