(Reuters) – Some 45,000 union workers walked off the job at seaports on the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts on Oct. 1, cutting off vital trade arteries just weeks ahead of the nation’s presidential election.
The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) union, which represents dockworkers across 36 ports on the U.S. East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico, remains deadlocked with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer group on wage issues.
The stoppage is the first coast-wide ILA strike since 1977 and halts the flow of about half the nation’s ocean shipping. A two-week strike could mean that ports would not return to normal operations until 2025, according to Sea-Intelligence, a Copenhagen-based shipping advisory firm.
Here is what global companies and stakeholders have said regarding a potential strike:
Costco U.S. retailer Costco’s contingency plans
Wholesale include pre-shipping some products to get in
holiday goods early and preparing to use
different ports, Costco’s CEO Ron Vachris said
last week.
Maersk The Danish shipping and logistics giant said in
August that should a general work stoppage
occur on the U.S. Gulf and East Coasts, even a
one-week shutdown could take 4-6 weeks to
recover from, “with significant backlogs and
delays compounding with each passing day.”
C.H. “We have been working on contingency plans with
Robinson customers for months, helping them import
freight early and diversify freight to other
ports,” Mia Ginter, director of North American
shipping, told Reuters. A significant volume
shift to the West Coast could challenge rail
services, requiring more use of truck and
transload services, Ginter added.
Maher Maher and Maersk’s APM, which are members of
Terminals the employer negotiating group (USMX), said
and APM they were keeping their terminals at the Port
Terminals of New York and New Jersey open for two
additional hours to clear cargo before the
potential strike.
Garden The Garden City Terminal at the Port of
City Savannah and the Norfolk International Terminal
Terminal at the Port of Virginia have also extended
and their gate hours for the weekend before Sept.
Norfolk 30 to clear cargo.
Internatio
nal
Terminal
Hapag-Lloy The shipping giant has said it is closely
d monitoring the strike situation and will keep
customers involved as developments unfold.
Andreas The German chainsaw manufacturer Andreas Stihl
Stihl AG & AG & Co told Reuters it is also developing
Co contingency plans to keep exports flowing from
its factory near the Port of Virginia, but
didn’t elaborate. Stihl’s U.S. plant ships
products to over 80 countries.
Designer Ronnie Robinson, chief supply chain officer at
Brands DSW parent company Designer Brands, said the
company has shifted half of its usual imports
through the East Coast to the West Coast.
Robinson added that his company cannot risk
late deliveries to clients like Macy’s,
Nordstrom, and Dillard’s department stores,
even if it means paying more for shipments.
National NAM CEO Jay Timmons said a strike would throw
Associatio manufacturing supply chains throughout the U.S.
n of into disarray. “Billions of dollars of goods –
Manufactur from food to vehicles to electronics – rely on
ers access to the East and Gulf Coast ports,”
Timmons said on Monday.
(Reporting by Abhinav Parmar and Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)