Containership owner Maersk is warning clients that a potential port labor strike could disrupt cargo shipping operations on the US east coast and Gulf coast later this month.
A temporary agreement on wages that was struck in October between the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) is set to expire on 15 January. The short-term agreement, which ended a brief strike, was intended to provide more time for negotiating the remaining contract issues.
"Considering the status, we strongly encourage our customers to pick up their laden containers and return empty containers at US east and Gulf coast ports before 15 January," Maesrk said on 31 December. "This proactive measure will help mitigate any potential disruptions at the terminals."
During negotiations last year, the ILA's demands included no new automation technology at US ports that would replace workers, describing this position as "non-negotiable".
US president-elect Donald Trump appeared to back the union after meeting with ILA's president and executive vice president in mid-December. "The amount of money saved [from automation] is nowhere near the distress, hurt, and harm it causes for American workers, in this case, our longshoremen," Trump said on social media.
The US president does not have direct power over union negotiations, but the president can issue executive orders affecting workers and intervene in strikes, if doing so would be in the national interest.
The current labor agreement covers approximately 25,000 workers employed in container and roll-on/roll-off operations at ports from Maine to Texas.
Movements of dry bulk cargo, such as coal and grains, are expected to be less affected by any work stoppage, though there could be side effects from the congestion of other products being rerouted to ports not affected by the strike.
Movement of crude, refined products and many petrochemicals would like be unaffected by a strike, as ILA members do not work within the private terminals that handle nearly all US dry bulk, oil, and gas exports. But some polymers that are moved by container, including polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, and polypropylene, could be disrupted.
A segment of US steel imports could also be disrupted by the strike, as about 9pc of those imports come in via containers, according to data from Global Trade Tracker.
