News / US ports re-open as ILA and USMX extend master contract - and negotiations - to January

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The USMX and the ILA – likely under the influence of the White House – have ended the strike, for now, with ports re-opening today. 

The pair announced last night that they have reached a “tentative agreement on wages”  and that they will extend the current master contract until 15 January, five days before the new US president takes office. 

In a joint statement, they said that they would “return to the bargaining table to negotiate all other outstanding issues. Effective immediately, all current job actions will cease, and all work covered by the Master Contract will resume”.

Reportedly, the new terms will give ILA members a 62% pay increase over six years. The level of automation still has to be agreed, and will likely continue to be a sticking point.

As of this morning, according to Scan Global Logistics, at least 50 containerships are thought to be anchored offshore, but will begin to berth today, in the order that they arrived.  

Scan said the “the backlog and subsequent congestion are expected to be a factor for at least the remainder of the month”.

It added that those carriers that have already called force majeure did “not include defined plans for cargo en route or in transit but placemarks and validates the action should the decision to terminate cargo at alternate discharge locations be reached”. 

Scan Global said it was working with carriers on affected cargo “with the intent to have all bookings completed to their original final destination”. 

With the contract now due to expire in January, there will still be uncertainty in the market – but after the busy pre-Christmas season when volumes are generally lower. The new date is also politically easier, putting any challenges in the in-box of an already elected new president. 

According to new data from Vizion API, as of last night the most affected companies, with containers stuck in east and Gulf coast ports, are Walmart, which has 837.2teu in ports, with an average dwell time of more than 10 days. Kuehne + Nagel, the second most affected, has 323teu with an average dwell time of more than 16 days.

While DHL Global Forwarding has just 293teu at ports, the average dwell time is 37 days. Although they have fewer containers impacted, some shippers have worse dwell times: Adidas is averaging at 45 days, Kerry Apex is at 49 days, Riviana Foods at 48 days and Flexport, with just 79teu, at an average of 41 days.

Vizion

Savannah tops the list of the most teus still in port, at 8,971, followed by New York at 3,901 and Houston at 2,401.

Over in Montréal, meanwhile, the port has reopened after its 72-hour industrial action. The Maritime Employers’ Association said that it would meet the union today at 11am, under mediation with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

“We want a lasting agreement that takes reality into account so we can work together to bring stability and cargo back to Montréal.”

It added: “No further information will be provided so as not to interfere in the mediation process.”