EYE on RETAIL: Port strike?
Retail groups are urging the Biden administration to intervene and for both parties to return to the negotiation table ahead of a potential strike by dockworkers on the East and Gulf Coast ports.
The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association sees a strike as increasingly likely, "unless a last-ditch effort by the White House administration is successful," said NLBMDA President & CEO Jonathan Paine. "Earlier today [Friday], the White House called on both parties to come to Washington, DC to meet with Secretary of Labor Julie Su, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and other administration officials.”
The NLBMDA is part of a coalition of organizations that have called on the White House to intervene in the labor dispute.
"A strike would have major implications and cause significant supply chain disruptions in the United States. A strike would shut down the East Coast ports all the way from Maine to even Texas shutting down three dozen locations at 14 port authorities. It would potentially cripple the national economy just before the election and the holiday season.”
The existing labor contract between the International Longshoreman’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) is set to set to expire on Sept. 30.
Along with the NLBMDA, some 170 organizations representing manufacturers, farmers and agriculture businesses, wholesalers, retailers, building material suppliers, restaurants, manufacturers called on the White House to engage in negotiations.
“Given the economic stakes and both parties’ inability to reach an agreement to date, it’s imperative the Biden-Harris administration engage directly to encourage a swift resolution,” stated RILA. “There is still time to get both sides back at the negotiating table and find an agreement.”
The Los Angeles and Long Beach ports are the busiest U.S. ports, with the highest volume of import/export freight, noted Tracey Ortiz, director of product management at SPS Commerce. However, in 2024, the Eastern port volume as a whole has spiked 20% over 2023.
“First, Houston saw an increase in volume and last year, Savannah started to see spikes,” said Ortiz. “Now Savannah is projected to be the busiest U.S. port in the next five years. So, with a large shift of cargo heading for Eastern ports, the risk of immediate impact on the supply chain is very high.”
RILA noted that the ripple effects of a strike — port congestion, vessel delays and missed shipments, increased shipping costs, inventory challenges and more — would amount to yet another round of supply chain disruption and uncertainty.
“It is unfortunate that talks were seemingly stalled to prepare for a strike rather than to continue forward and find a solution,” RILA stated. “And although retailers have already activated contingency plans to help mitigate its effects, the longer a work stoppage goes on, the harder it will be to do so.”
