A strike that comes almost a year after the first attack by the Houthi rebels against ships transiting the Suez Canal
The strike affects 36 ports located on the east coast of the United States and in the Gulf of Mexico area
President Joe Biden and his administration have repeatedly said they will not use federal powers to end the strike
According to the Genoese association,US dockworkers strike will affect 500 thousand containers every week, while for Assarmatori the biggest problems will be organizational and logistical for shipowners and shippers, as well as a possible increase in costs for exporters Shipping Italy reported
First trading partner
Exporters and shippers are viewing with extreme concern the situation which from today will block the ports of the East coast and the Gulf of Mexico.
The United States is Italy’s first trading partner outside Europe. With the strike, every week, it is estimated that worldwide there will be around 500 thousand containers that will not be able to disembark or reach their final destinations.
Extremely serious damage to the US economy, to its consumers, but also to exporters, who will certainly see the cost of freight rising in the coming weeks.”
Another strike !
Giampaolo Botta, general director of Spediporto (the Genoese association of freight forwarders), does not mince words to express all his concern regarding the unrest that is affecting the ports of the eastern part of the United States.
A strike that comes almost a year after the first attack by the Houthi rebels against ships transiting the Suez Canal and which therefore risks sending the world container market into crisis again, with daily losses that JP Morgan estimates at between 3 .8 and 4.5 billion dollars.
It should be remembered that the strike affects 36 ports located on the east coast of the United States and in the Gulf of Mexico area; the abstention from work, proclaimed by the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA)
Also involves around 45 thousand workers, and will paralyze the activities of ports capable of handling between 40 and 50% of the volumes of all US ports.
Volume losses in a month could reach two million containers according to the data presented at the Fiata Congress in Panama where Spediporto was present with general director Botta and president Andrea Giachero.
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Mediterranean ports
Mediterranean ports will also suffer heavy repercussions according to shippers: every week around 71,000 containers are at risk, in both directions, on the axis with the east coast of the United States.
The latter nation which, for the port of Genoa, represents an essential reference: the latest data available from the Port System Authority, referring to 2022, speak of 336 thousand containers moved between embarkation and disembarkation. A figure higher than that linked, for example, to all European destinations.
Popular alternative solution
Stem the problems
So how can we try to stem the problems that will arise? Spediporto underlines that the most popular alternative solution, at the moment, is the one relating to the use of the ports of the West Coast (or Canada), but operators are also focusing on air cargo and more accurate inventory management to avoid interruptions in supply chain.
Political debate
At this point, operators can hope “obviously – concludes the general director of Spediporto – that the situation can find a rapid solution in the next few days. The topic will forcefully enter into the political debate linked to the electoral campaign of these weeks and this could be a favorable element for quickly identifying a solution”.
Exports the most affected
Stefano Messina, president of Assarmatori, also spoke on the same issue and, speaking to the press agency La Presse, said: that “exports will be the most affected, since the U.S. they are the main recipients of Made in Italy outside the European Union, and the second country overall after Germany, with ship transport absorbing almost all of these traffics: we are talking about goods worth over 33 billion euros in the first six months of 2024, up by 3.8% compared to the same period of 2023”.
Blockade of traffic
According to the association, the strike at American ports therefore risks “representing a new blow for Italian sea traffic after the tensions linked to the blockade of traffic on the Red Sea linked to the Houthi attacks.
The lengthening of the maritime routes between East and West, forced to avoid the Suez Canal and to circumnavigate South Africa, have led – Coldiretti specifies – to an increase in transport costs of 659% according to the Divulga Study Center, while the journey times increased by an average of 7-10 days. And the most perishable products were especially affected, starting with fruit and vegetables.”
Negotiations broke down
It is noteworthy that U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast dockworkers began their first large-scale strike in nearly 50 years on Tuesday, halting the flow of about half the country’s ocean shipping, after negotiations for a new labor contract broke down over wages.according to Reuters
The strike blocks everything from food to automobile shipments across dozens of ports from Maine to Texas, a disruption analysts warned will cost the economy billions of dollars a day, threaten jobs and potentially stoke inflation
Joe Biden and (USMX)
President Joe Biden and his administration have repeatedly said they will not use federal powers to end the strike, and on Tuesday pressured dockworker employers to bump up their contract offer to land a deal.
The International Longshoremen’s Association union, which represents 45,000 port workers, had been negotiating with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer group for a new six-year contract ahead of a midnight Monday deadline.
