First shutdown of East Coast and Gulf Coast import-export hubs for almost 50 years expected to hamper fruit trade flows
For the first time in almost half a century, a strike at ports along the entire US East Coast will go ahead on Tuesday, 1 October, after workers’ union the International Longshoremen’s Association confirmed plans to proceed with the industrial action.
The strike, which affects a total of 14 ports including those on the Gulf of Mexico, is expected to cause widespread disruption to fresh produce imports and exports.
As a result, containers full of fresh fruit including bananas, pineapples, citrus, and grapes destined for those entry points are likely to end up stranded portside, turned away, or facing a much longer alternative route into the US.
Even if the standoff lasts just one week, estimates suggest the backlog would take several weeks or even months to clear.
At the centre of the impasse are ILA concerns around apparent automation plans at a number of ports. It says these are a breach of its existing labour agreement with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX), which runs port operations along the two coasts.
Back in June, the union refused to continue negotiations over a new six-year master contract proposed by USMX, after it learnt that APM Terminals and Maersk Line had installed an automatic truck entry system at the Port of Mobile in Alabama.
“United States Maritime Alliance… refuses to address a half-century of wage subjugation,” it said in a statement.
