Dockworkers at ports from Maine to Texas are walking picket lines as they strike over wages and automation.
There are fears that a prolonged strike, which is affecting 36 ports along the American east coast, could reignite inflation and cause shortages of goods.
The contract between the ports and about 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) expired and despite reported progress in talks, workers opted to strike.
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. The firm has estimated that for each day of a strike, it would take four to six days to clear the backlog.
Major logistics and shipping companies are providing regular port status updates to customers with some container lines announcing they will impose surcharges from mid-October.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and acknowledge its challenges,” Maersk wrote to its customers. “We are diligently working on and implementing contingency plans to support you. Please be aware that the situation is constantly evolving, and details may change accordingly.”
According to a report earlier this week by HSBC Global Research, Gulf and East Coast ports handled for 55.5 per cent of US container imports year-to-date and accounted for eight per cent of container volumes globally.
The report said a strike would particularly impact imports from European and Latin American origins, which the reports said could be left stranded due to a lack of viable alternatives to handle such large volumes at either Mexican or Canadian East Coast ports.
In other news, NewCold has broken ground on what will be the largest temperature-controlled warehouse in central and southern Italy.
