2 weeks Ago
Days before dockworkers are scheduled to strike at ports from Maine to Texas, including the Port of Charleston, economists are warning of widespread cargo disruptions and billions of dollars in losses even as last-ditch efforts are being made to avoid an Oct. 1 walkout. London-based HSBC bank said in a report this week that 54 percent of all cargo and 90 percent of goods shipped from Europe, the Caribbean and eastern South America move through ports along the U.
S. East and Gulf coasts. West Coast ports would only be able to handle less than one-fifth of the freight that might get diverted during a strike.
Ports in Mexico and Canada "are less equipped to handle the spillover." Transportation analysts with JPMorgan estimate a strike could cost the U.S.
economy $5 billion a day, or about 6 percent of gross domestic product expressed daily, according to a study cited by The New York Times . For each day the ports are shut down, the report stated, it would take roughly six days to clear the backlog of ships waiting to unload their cargo. Port of Charleston is prepping now for an expected dockworkers strike A two-week strike would push the recovery into 2025, according to a Sea-Intelligence Maritime Analysis report cited by the Journal of Commerce .
Some container lines are already diverting cargo to the West Coast — adding up to two weeks to transit schedules — and planning to add post-strike surcharges of up to $1,500 per 20-foot container for boxes destined for an East or Gulf coast port. That's putting extra financial pressure on shippers trying to avoid having their cargo stranded. The ILA broke off talks with its employer, the U.
S. Maritime Alliance, in June over a disagreement about labor-saving technology used at a port in Mobile, Ala. The union's wage scale committee voted this month in favor of a strike involving about 45,000 dockworkers if the alliance — a consortium of container lines — doesn't meet its pay demands.
SC Ports' Leatherman Terminal getting 1st weekly container service under new ILA pact Today's Top Headlines Story continues below Helene pummeled parts of SC with wicked winds and driving rain; at least 19 people died. Updated: 3 dead from Tropical Storm Helene identified, Storm knocks out power for 92% of Aiken Electric customers Live updates: SC death toll from Helene climbs to 19 after 2 more found dead in Spartanburg County Helene's water dump in Upstate pushes rivers and streams to brink Celebrated Southern restaurant announces sudden closure after 23 years in Charleston Historic Aiken home goes on the market following owner's federal indictment. Here's the listing price.
'It was scary.' Midlands residents in Tropical Storm Helene's path recall close calls, trees falling Live updates: Helene damage leaves thousands without power and injures multiple in Midlands 2 SC restaurants landed on the New York Times' list of 'America's Best restaurants' Feds worried about western areas of SC, citing floods, possible dam failures and post-Helene deaths ILA members with six or more years of experience currently earn a base pay of $39 per hour, or about $81,000 a year, and can more than double that amount with overtime. The union hasn't said how much of a pay increase it wants, but the Journal of Commerce reported the demand is $5 per hour for every year of a six-year pact.
Other reports have pegged the salary demand at 77 percent over the life of the new contract. The alliance, known as USMX, has reportedly offered $2.50 per hour annually.
Biden administration officials met Friday with port operators to discuss the possible work stoppage and urge the ILA and maritime alliance to return to the negotiating table to avoid the waterfront union's first strike since 1977. SC Ports eyes Leatherman expansion as work continues to reopen container terminal President Biden's administration does not see a potential strike as necessarily disruptive to the economy, since retailers erred on the side of caution by stocking up on goods ahead of time. The federal government also has additional tools to monitor supply chains that it lacked during the pandemic.
The S.C. State Ports Authority did not immediately say whether CEO Barbara Melvin was among the officials meeting with the administration.
The SPA announced last week it has extended gate hours for truckers ahead of the strike deadline and said it would not charge storage fees on loaded containers during a walkout. The maritime agency has not commented directly on the negotiations between the ILA and USMX. Biden has said he does not plan to invoke the Taft-Hartley Act, which would force union members back to work for an 80-day cooling period.
The USMX said Thursday it filed an unfair labor practice charge against the ILA with the National Labor Relations Board, saying the union is not bargaining in good faith. The ILA, in a Facebook post , called the charge "another publicity stunt by the employer group" and repeated its call for the container lines to share the billions in profits they've made since the pandemic with dockworkers..
