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Dear Clients, 45,000 port workers have walked off the job along the US East Coast and Gulf Coast from midnight 1st October. Members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) which is the largest maritime trade union in the US, began strike action at 14 main ports including Baltimore, Boston, Charleston, Houston, Jacksonville, Miami, Mobile, New Orleans, New York/New Jersey, Norfolk, Philadelphia, Savannah, Tampa and Wilmington. The ILA and the US Marine Alliance (USMX) which represents shipping lines and terminal operators have been at loggerheads for several months over wage and benefits as well as the ILA demanding a complete ban on port automation infrastructure in critical operations such as container handling and crane operations. Whilst a long way from Australia, this strike action will have a significant impact on the Australian trade over time given the US is Australia’s 2nd largest trading partner. With potential backlogs at US ports, we are likely to see a slowdown in the movement of ships thereby increasing transit times, causing delays and congestion. With delays and disruption comes the inevitable increase in cost from the shipping lines in way of surcharges to cover additional costs of any changes to shipping routes and delays. Should you wish to discuss any of these points, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your key contact @ Transways Logistics International. |
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