Retailers, manufacturers, and other shippers are already dealing with higher costs and longer transit times due to labor talks in U.S. port on the East Coast.
The contract of the International Longshoremen’s Association, which covers 45,000 dockworkers in three dozen ports from Maine to Texas, expires Sept. 30. The union may strike if there is not a deal reached by that date. This would happen during the crucial holiday container shipping season, and the re-election campaign of labor-friendly U.S. president Joe Biden.