FT: Coming dockers’ strike threatens to shut down US ports
U.S. retailers, auto companies and others are facing rising shipping rates ahead of a possible strike, threatening to close nearly three dozen ports next week. About this reports Financial Times.
It notes that port infrastructure in the United States “is not designed to move the volume of 36 ports to the West Coast.” This was stated by Douglas Kent from the Association for Supply Chain Management.
The International Longshoremen’s Association, which represents 25,000 dockworkers at ports from Maine to Texas, wants to go on strike on Tuesday, October 1, if port operators refuse to raise wages and limit automation.
JPMorgan analysts noted that the strike could cost the US economy five billion dollars every day. It is clarified that retailers have already accelerated the import of holiday goods and reserved space with Western ocean and rail carriers in the hope of avoiding disruptions. At the same time, businesses’ transportation costs increased by 20 percent due to the need for additional warehouse space.
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