News / There may still be a path to USEC dispute settlement, says 'optimist' shipper

Photo: ILA

Just days from the start of a US east and Gulf coast port strike, shipper optimism that industrial action can still be averted has left forwarders bemoaning failure to learn from past mistakes.

National Tree Company CEO Chris Butler told The Loadstar that, while the company’s “experts on the ground” had concluded the strike was a “done deal”, he believed a path to a settlement remained.

“Ever the optimist, I tend to think all negotiations go to the wire before any resolution is reached, and it would obviously be fantastic if one can be found,” he said.

“That being said, we have heeded the warnings from our team and while we still have about 15% of goods still left on the water on the way to New York, we were able to accelerate a fair bit, and in other cases we were able to shift volumes to Los Angeles and Long Beach.”

Dockers will walk out on 1 October, after the 30 September expiry of the labour contract, should a new one not be agreed between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and employers the USMX.

This week, the USMX accused the ILA of impeding last-minute efforts to avoid a strike, claiming it remained “prepared to bargain at any time”. In response union bosses claimed the USMX was engaging in a “misleading publicity campaign”.

While some have called on government intervention, shippers that spoke to The Loadstar said this was not what they would want. One said: “In a free market economy, you do not want the government involved in any labour negotiations. When things get to a critical juncture, you would hope it can make back-channel efforts, and I think it probably is. What’s important for us is getting our goods in.”

Should the strike go ahead, Mr Butler said, his company – which specialises in Christmas trees – could see its plans thrown off by three to four weeks.

That, however, remains dependent on how long the strike lingers, with suggestions it, and knock-on effects, could stretch well into next year – a situation Mr Butler said would be a “disaster” for the wider economy.

One forwarder told The Loadstar the situation had exposed a frailty within global supply chains after the pandemic-induced improved resilience.

Co-owner of Argents, Tony Chiappetta, said supply chains had “nearly” returned to a just-in-time model, and while this worked when everything ran smoothly, the new reality was that “things very rarely run smoothly for long”.

“This could lead to an interesting peak season,” Mr Chiappetta added.