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By Paul Page 

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South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. is at a crossroads as the troubled shipyard tries to survive in a changed and much smaller market for new ships. The company unveiled a new $2.6 billion bailout package that would provide badly needed cash, the WSJ's In-Soo Nam reports. The shipbuilder's biggest state creditors, Korea Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of Korea, are providing funds to improve Daewoo's cash flow and convert its liabilities into equity to cut debt, alongside Daewoo's third bailout in the past four years. The crisis extends the pain in South Korea's shipping industry, a critical piece of the country's export-focused economy, following last year's collapse of container-shipping giant Hanjin Shipping Co. Daewoo is being dragged down by similar forces -- excess capacity on the water has eroded demand for new ships, raising the need for more state support.

Top U.S. auto makers believe the best place to start rethinking trade policy is on car lots in China. The automobile companies are pressing the Trump administration turn its trade focus toward automobile sales in China and take a harder line over hefty tariffs that provide a big advantage to Chinese companies, the WSJ's Trefor Moss, Chester Dawson and William Mauldin report. The auto makers are facing big changes in North American trade policies, including President Donald Trump's demands to boost U.S. manufacturing, that could drive up their production costs. But Mr. Trump also wants to level the playing field on trade with China, where the car companies want a bigger slice of the country's big automobile market. Beijing sees its auto industry as a strategic asset, however. And although Chinese companies have been investing in auto production in the West, they see little chance of gaining a significant foothold in U.S. sales.

Sears Holdings Corp. is sending a stark message to investors -- and to suppliers. The company raised doubts in a securities filing about its ability to keep operating after seven years of losses, the WSJ's Anne Steele reports, putting new clouds over the iconic business in a retail market in upheaval. Sears insists the company remains viable, but the fresh concerns rattled businesses tied to the retailer: Shares in retail real-estate investment trusts slumped as shopping-center landlords around the U.S. started weighing their exposure over a possible bankruptcy filing. The company has already sold off a large swath of real-estate holdings to generate cash, but Sears is still struggling as consumers leave department stores for online retailers. The shakeout is hitting harder as the impact of a tough holiday season for brick-and-mortar operators takes hold: retailers including Bebe Stores Inc., Payless Shoes, Nine West and J.Crew are the latest in a growing field of storefront operators facing tough choices over closing stores or entering bankruptcy.

TRANSPORTATION

An avian influenza outbreak that may be the worst in seven years is upending the poultry industry in Asia. The human death toll in China is rising and chickens are being culled across Asia, the WSJ's Lucy Craymer reports, weighing on prices in China and leaving other markets to rely on imports from countries such as the U.S. to ease domestic-supply shortages. Market watchers say bird-flu has often created volatile swings in the global poultry industry, and that markets have been hit this year as outbreaks have hit in China, South Korea and on a Tennessee chicken farm. While China banned U.S. chicken outright in 2015 over avian-flu concerns, other importers, such as Thailand, could benefit. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that China's chicken imports will rise nearly 10% for all of 2017. If that happens, China would become the world's second-biggest poultry importer behind Mexico.

The troubled demise of trucker Jevic Transportation will have an impact across the world of bankruptcy law. The U.S. Supreme Court handed the company's former truck drivers a victory, the WSJ's Peg Brickley reports, rejecting the tactic known as structured dismissal that put some creditors ahead of drivers for payment claims. A lawyer for the drivers, who were left in the lurch when the company simply locked its doors one morning in 2008 and stopped operating, says the decision affirms their claim. But the drivers won't get paid anytime soon -- it simply sends the case back to bankruptcy court for what will likely mean more costly legal work. The ruling will be felt across other bankruptcy cases, however, by showing that companies can't take a back door through chapter 11 to set their own priorities for who's paid and who's left behind.

QUOTABLE

IN OTHER NEWS

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes fell 3.7% in February amid rising prices and tight inventory. (WSJ)

Brazil is racing to convince concerned markets that meatpackers accused of bribing inspectors did so to get their products out faster, not to sell rancid meat. (WSJ)

Future orders for Nike Inc. are down 4% as the retailer faces growing competition and discounting from online sportswear sales. (WSJ)

China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., withdrew its planned bid for a controlling stake in Malaysian auto maker Proton Holdings Bhd. (WSJ)

General Electric Co. promised to cut another $1 billion in costs from its industrial operations after discussions with an activist investor. (WSJ)

A U.S. officials says negotiations for a big trans-Atlantic trade deal are still alive. (Agence France-Presse)

Women's apparel retailer Bebe Stores Inc. is closing all its stores to focus entirely on e-commerce sales. (WSJ)

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will start construction of a Mobile, Ala., distribution center the retailer will use to manage imports coming through the Port of Mobile. (Birmingham News)

Starbucks Corp. plans to open 12,000 stores by 2021, including 3,400 new sites in the U.S. (MarketWatch)

Federal transport regulators are dropping a new rule heavily opposed by the trucking industry that would change how carrier safety fitness is determined. (Commercial Carrier Journal)

Maersk Line says there is enough container ship capacity to support 3% annual trade growth for the next five years. (Journal of Commerce)

Kerry Logistics Ltd. is selling its stake in a Hong Kong air freight terminal in part to build reserves for its acquisitions strategy. (The Loadstar)

Chinese airline STO Express, a supplier to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., is starting freighter flights between Hong Kong and Italy. (Lloyd's Loading List)

Greece's Thessaloniki port is expecting four bids this week for a majority stake in the country's No. 2 ocean gateway. (Splash 24/7)

The number of Americans killed on railroad tracks rose sharply last year. (Progressive Railroading)

ABOUT US

Paul Page is deputy editor of WSJ Logistics Report. Follow him at @PaulPage, and follow the entire WSJ Logistics Report team: @brianjbaskin, @jensmithWSJ and @EEPhillips_WSJ and follow the WSJ Logistics Report on Twitter at @WSJLogistics.

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Write to Paul Page at paul.page@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 23, 2017 06:56 ET (10:56 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.