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War Squeezes Fertilizer Supplies; Retailers Slow Deliveries; Flying Taxi Feud Goes to Court By Mark R. Long | WSJ Logistics Report

A frenzied run-up in oil prices as the week opened evaporated and then some, in a stunning reversal

that shows how the war with Iran is scrambling the outlook for the fuel-hungry global economy, The Wall Street Journal's David Uberti writes.

After surging above $100 a barrel, oil futures dropped on word that the world's biggest economies were prepared to release strategic reserves

to stabilize markets, and following encouraging comments

by President Trump on the Iran war's progress.

But the Persian Gulf is a dominant hub for more than just oil and natural gas. Several related commodities face a supply crunch

as tankers and other ships steer clear of the Strait of Hormuz, the WSJ's Ed Ballard writes. The Gulf region's gas riches have made it a manufacturing hub for widely used fertilizers, for instance, that are getting more costly and raising the risk of food-price shocks. Wheat futures rose to approach a two-year high

early Monday.

The Middle East and North Africa account for nearly half the global trade in urea, a commonly used fertilizer, and most of that passes through the Strait of Hormuz. As of Friday, the price of urea in Egypt, a regional benchmark, had risen more than 50% since the war's start, according to Argus Media. Much of the world's sulfur, as well, is a byproduct of oil refining used to produce sulfuric acid, which in turn is used in the production of copper, phosphate fertilizer, EV batteries and other goods. Forty-five percent of the world's sulfur comes from the Middle East, according to CRU. As of Monday, the price of sulfur delivered to China had risen 15% from the war's start, Argus data show. The risk to supplies of ammonia, urea, phosphates and gas from Mideast producers prompted some traders to bet that comparatively low U.S. natural-gas prices will benefit North American fertilizer companies , the WSJ's Ryan Dezember writes. Benchmark aluminum futures surged to their highest level in nearly four years in London on Monday. Smelters in the Gulf region-which accounts for 9% of global production- depend on the strait for imports of alumina

and for exports of the metal itself.

In other Mideast war developments:

G-7 energy ministers were set to hold talks , a day after finance ministers discussed the potential release of strategic oil reserves. (WSJ) Saudi Arabia started shutting down some of its oilfields

as the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz curbs exports and the kingdom tries to reroute crude via the Red Sea. (WSJ) A Bahraini oil refinery run by Bapco Energies declared force majeure

after it was struck overnight by Iranian drones. (WSJ) Mediterranean Shipping Co. is imposing emergency fuel surcharges

on cargo from the Mediterranean and Black Seas to the Indian subcontinent, Red Sea and East Africa from March 16 until March 31. (Reuters) Mideast airfreight disruptions are spurring interest among logistics companies in transporting cargo by road

between China and Europe. (Air Cargo News) CONTENT FROM: PENSKE Gain Clarity. Gain Ground With Penske.

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E-Commerce

After years of priming customers to expect speedy deliveries, the ever-growing e-commerce economy is weaning us off them-and no one seems to mind , the Journal's Esther Fung writes. For years, online retailers were willing to eat the cost of fast shipping in the battle for customers. But these costs have increased sharply-especially for home deliveries.

Amazon-whose deliveries were so quick that the rest of the industry hustled to match them-now offers some customers a 7% discount if they select a later arrival date. Gap provides as many as five shipping options, including a "no rush" one that can take up to nine business days.

The rise of Chinese e-commerce juggernauts Shein and Temu conditioned shoppers to wait longer for their packages-and revealed to American businesses that their customers weren't always looking for speedy delivery. Once businesses figured that out, they discovered another secret: Customers who wait are also less likely to return their orders.

Aerospace Manufacturing

Archer Aviation, a company that designs electric flying taxis, sued Joby Aviation, alleging that its rival spent years deceiving federal regulators and investors by concealing extensive ties to Chinese suppliers , the Journal's Christopher Kuo writes. The suit filed in a California federal court alleges that Joby's actions undermine national security and run contradictory to its branding as an "American-made" air-taxi manufacturer.

Joby has spent more than a decade operating a manufacturing subsidiary in Shenzhen, China, and that entity benefited from technology-development grants directly from the Chinese government, according to the suit. The suit alleges that the company fraudulently disguised aerospace imports from that subsidiary by misclassifying the parts as thousands of pounds of socks, napkins, hair clips and other items.

Alex Spiro, an attorney for Joby, said the company "doesn't respond to nonsense."

Number of the Day In Other News China's consumer-price index rose 1.3% in February

from a year earlier, exceeding expectations and marking the highest reading in nearly three years. (WSJ) German manufacturing orders plunged 11.1%

at the start of 2026, while production also fell. (WSJ) Shell agreed to sell

Jiffy Lube to Monomoy Capital Partners in a $1.3 billion deal, more than 23 years after the chain became part of Shell via the purchase of Pennzoil-Quaker State. (WSJ) Anthropic sued the Trump administration

for designating the AI company a security threat and trying to cancel its federal contracts. (WSJ) Nvidia-backed Nscale Global Holdings raised $2 billion in Series C funding at a $14.6 billion valuation for AI infrastructure development . (WSJ) Lenders that hold a $1.1 billion loan to carry First Brands through chapter 11 are discussing a strategy to bankroll lawsuits

aimed at recovering at least some of their losses. (WSJ) Newcold plans to build an additional automated cold-storage warehouse near Indianapolis, in a $500 million expansion . (SupplyChain24/7) Mercedes-Benz is considering sharing a South African factory

with China's Great Wall Motor, as U.S. tariffs take effect. (Bloomberg) Japan's Proterial is searching for places in North America and elsewhere to make magnets without rare-earth metals

for use in EVs, to counter China's chokehold on the critical materials. (Nikkei Asia) Conagra Brands is planning a $220 million expansion

of a chicken production plant in Fayetteville, Ark., as it aims to bolster its frozen foods business. (FoodDive) Ridgewood Infrastructure acquired a controlling interest

in Sierra Railroad at the same time that the California company-with Ridgewood's investment-is acquiring Central Valley Ag Transport. (TrainsPRO) Maritime technology company Burmester & Vogel acquired shipping data platform

Marsoft for undisclosed terms. (TradeWinds) Tennessee's IMC Logistics plans to open a drayage facility in Toronto, as the carrier expands outside the U.S. to support cross-border freight shipments. (Transport Topics) 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

March 10, 2026 07:06 ET (11:06 GMT)

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