Strike in USA closes down ports:
The ILA (International Longshoremen’s Association) and USMX ( US Maritime Alliance, representing employers at US East Coast and Gulf ports) have been negotiating a new contract for several months, talks reached a standstill late last week and the ILA threatened to strike from Tuesday (US Time). The strike encompasses around 45,000 ILS members across the various ports and will be the first East Coast port strike since 1977.
The scale of the strike and the resulting ripple effect will significantly disrupt cargo movement along the U.S. East Coast, U.S. Gulf, and across alternative shipping routes. Vessels schedules will be impacted, as some carriers may reroute to alternative ports while others will anchor offshore awaiting resolution.
The following ports have ceased operation already:
- Montreal and Toronto in Canada (cargo from both ports usually loads out of New York or Philadelphia ports for Australia/NZ).
- All East Coast and Gulf ports in USA.
Despite the high stakes, the Biden administration has indicated that the president does not plan to invoke the Taft-Hartley Act, which allows presidential intervention in labor disputes that create a national emergency. The Act allows 80 days cooling off period so the various parties can continue negotiations and requires all workers to return to their jobs.
This industrial action will lead to stranded vessels off the East Coast/Gulf area, and already today we have seen a couple of shipping lines issue notices that a Port Strike Congestion Surcharge will be introduced to all affected containers. The amounts being quoted today are around USD 1500.00/20ft container and USD 3000.00/40ft container with specialized equipment (Reefer, Open-Top, Flat-Racks) possibly attracting even higher costs.
LCL consolidations will also be affected, we have today seen a surcharge of USD 35.00 per cbm/1000kgs applied by consolidators from all USA origin points, effective immediately.
GPSM will keep all clients updated as soon as further information comes to hand.