The strike at 36 ports handling one-half of U.S. ocean imports could cost the economy $5 billion a day and will affect healthcare.
Updated, Oct. 1, 2024:
Reuters reports that dockworkers on the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast began a strike early on Tuesday, their first large-scale stoppage in nearly 50 years, halting the flow of about half the nation's ocean shipping after negotiations for a new labor contract broke down over wages.
Updated, Sept. 30, 2024:
The Associated Press is reporting that a port strike by 45,000 dockworkers employed at 36 US ports "is all but certain" at midnight, October 1. President Joe Biden has to date resisted calls, such as one from the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, to intervene. However, according to the AP, “If a strike were deemed a danger to U.S. economic health, President Joe Biden could, under the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, seek a court order for an 80-day cooling-off period. This would suspend the strike.”
According to Tony Pelli, director of supply chain security and resilience at BSI Americas, “It may take a couple of weeks to see an impact on the price of goods in the U.S. In some cases, companies may have increased inventory at U.S. warehouses or shifted (to the extent possible) to West Coast ports in anticipation of such an event. However, most are operating just-in-time supply chains to reduce inventory costs, so they likely haven't taken these steps. It’s unlikely that stores have already raised prices, but that could happen fairly quickly following a strike, as West Coast ports do not have the capacity to handle the excess volume. This could lead to a return of the container backlogs we saw at West Coast ports during the pandemic.”
Updated, Sept. 27, 2024:
“Several ports have already scheduled planned shutdowns of all port operations ahead of the potential strike from the afternoon of September 30, including: Port of Houston, Port of New Orleans, Port of Norfolk and Port of Mobile," said Mirko Woitzik, global director of Intelligence for Everstream Analytic on September 27. "More will likely send out announcements over the coming days. Shipping lines could revert to a port-hopping strategy in the first week of a possible strike to allow their ships to unload cargo, calling at Caribbean transshipment hubs such as at Freeport in the Bahamas or at gateways in Mexico or Canada.”
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Everstream Analytics points out that pharmaceutical and healthcare sector which relies on a time-sensitive supply chain may see the biggest impacts and potential material shortages that could disrupt production or patient safety.
The affected ports handle more than 91% of containerized imports and 69% of containerized exports of U.S. pharmaceutical products.
Over 1 in 3 containers departing the U.S. with lifesaving medications leaves from the Port of Norfolk, VA.
Nearly 30% of containerized pharmaceutical imports in the U.S. enter through the Port of Charleston, SC.