Factbox: Companies have planned for US East Coast ports strike

Nordstrom

01/10/2024 13:43

(Repeats story first published on 1 Oct)
       Oct 1 (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
  COST.O    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 on
         disruptions, affecting import and export
            activities, container availability, and overall
            operational efficiency. 
            The company has said it will introduce a port
            disruption surcharge on all cargo moving to and
            from the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast
            terminals from Oct. 21 ranging from $1,500 to
            $3,780 a container.     
 C.H.       "We have been working on contingency plans with
 Robinson   customers for months, helping them import
  CHRW.O    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.
 Internati  
 onal       
 Terminal   
 Hapag-Llo  The shipping giant has said it is closely
 yd         monitoring the strike situation and will keep
  HLAG.DE   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
  DBI.N     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  M.N ,
            Nordstrom  JWN.N , and Dillard's  DDS.N 
            department stores, even if it means paying more
            for shipments. 
 National   NAM CEO Jay Timmons said a strike would throw
 Associati  manufacturing supply chains throughout the U.S.
 on of      into disarray. "Billions of dollars of goods -
 Manufactu  from food to vehicles to electronics - rely on
 rers       access to the East and Gulf Coast ports,"
            Timmons said on Monday. 
 Inter      "We are closely monitoring the situation and
 IKEA,      hope for an agreement between the parties as
 which      soon as possible. It is too early to comment on
 makes      any possible constraints the strike might have
 IKEA       on our supply chain."
 furniture  
            
 
(Reporting by Abhinav Parmar and Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona and David Evans)
((mailto:Ananta.agarwal@thomsonreuters.com))