As the International Longshoremen’s Association port workers move closer to a strike at East Coast and Gulf Coast ports, the union is warning that major importers such as LG Electronics, Walmart, Ikea, Samsung, and Home Depot will find no options to divert trade to Canada or the West Coast as other unions close ranks in support of its labor battle.
These companies are among the leading importers at the 14 major ports that an ILA strike would impact, according to ImportGenius. Overall, between 43%-49% of all U.S. imports and billions of dollars in monthly trade are at stake as the union moves closer to the Oct. 1 deadline for a new contract, over which talks between the union and ports management broke down in June and have not resumed. Cruise operations at ports would continue.
“To stop trade entering the U.S. on such a large-scale, even for short period of time, is highly-damaging to the economy so government intervention will be needed to bring the matter to a resolution for the good of the nation,” warned Peter Sand, chief shipping analyst at Xeneta.
“A strike lasting just one week will impact schedules for ships leaving the Far East on voyages to the U.S. in late December and throughout January.”
While some logistics managers say Canada and the West Coast are options for vessels to divert to and unload cargo, the ILA has union chapters at the Atlantic Coast and Great Lakes ports in Canada.
The ILA is North America’s largest longshoremen’s union. Out of the 85,000 members, 50,000 would go on strike at the 14 ports that are subject to a master contract that has not been negotiated.
“You can be sure the ILA’s 85,000 members will be supporting their Sisters and Brothers,” said James McNamara, spokesman for the ILU.
Separately, the Port of Montreal union affiliated with the Canadian Union of Public Employees issued a 72-hour notice that its own three-day strike starts on Monday, Sept. 30. Mia Ginter, director of North American ocean shipping at C.H. Robinson, tells CNBC this strike could exacerbate the U.S. port strike disruption.
“With Canada being a main contingency route, an overlapping strike at the Port of Montreal, even with some terminals remaining operational, will significantly weaken this as a contingency route,” she said.
Additionally, Ginter noted that Hurricane Helene’s impact on the U.S. Southeast means fewer trucks are heading to those ports, which could affect importers trying to move their freight out before an ILA strike begins.
The last time the ILA went on strike, in 1977, the ILWU union at West Coast ports supported it by allowing ILA members to go to the Port of Los Angeles to stop the unloading of a diverted vessel.
Its president Harold Daggett has cited this historical example in recent communications with rank-and-file members, which voted unanimously to authorize a strike.
“We’ll shut them down,” Daggett said in a recent video message to union members.
ImportGenius compiled the Bills of Lading for 2024, the digital receipts of the containers which has shipper and product information, at the ports of New York/New Jersey, Baltimore, Savannah, Houston, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and New Orleans.
