East Coast ports strike, ILA union work stop strands billions in trade

Billions in trade came to a screeching halt at U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast ports after members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) walked off the job at 12:01 a.m. ET on October 1. The ILA is North America’s largest longshoremen’s union, with roughly 50,000 of its 85,000 members making good on the threat to strike at 14 ports subject to a just-expired master contract with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX). The union and port ownership group failed to reach agreement on a new contract in a protracted battle over wage increases and use of automation.

In a last-ditch effort on Monday to avert a strike that will cause significant harm to the U.S. economy if it is lengthy — at least hundreds of millions of dollars a day at the largest ports like New York/New Jersey — the USMX offered a nearly 50% wage hike over six years, but that was rejected by the ILA, according to a source close to the negotiations.

The 14 ports are Boston, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Wilmington, North Carolina, Baltimore, Norfolk, Charleston, Savannah, Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami, New Orleans, Mobile, and Houston.

Rhetoric from ILA leadership has been aggressive in the weeks leading up to the strike, with ILA president Harold Daggett, who was a union member the last time it went out on strike in 1977, telling rank-and-file members — who unanimously voted to authorize a strike — in a recent video message, “We’ll crush them.” 

For now, it is the supply chain and U.S. economy which will take the immediate hit.

Shana Wray, principal solutions architect for supply chain intelligence firm FourKites, tells CNBC the strike comes at the worst possible time, with its impact on supply chain congestion to exacerbate the devastation left behind from Hurricane Helene.

“Helene caused ports to delay openings at the ports of Charleston and Savannah, as well as power losses at intermodal facilities in Savannah, Charleston, and Atlanta,” said Wray. “This created ocean, trucking, and rail carriers congestion across Southeast and Gulf ports.”

Both economists and logistics executives say the impact of the strike depends on how long the work stoppage lasts.

“A disruption of a week or two will create some backlogs but the broader consequences will be minimal outside of a handful of very port-reliant areas, including Savannah,” said Adam Kamins, economist at Moody’s Analytics. “But anything longer will lead to shortages and upward price pressures,” he said.

The most significant issues would be faced by food and automobile industries,…