From shoes to alcohol, these products will be impacted by the dockers’ strike

Dock workers strike outside the Houston Port Authority on October 1, 2024 in Houston, Texas. Credit – Brandon Bell/Getty Images

TThe U.S. dockworkers’ strike, affecting major ports from Maine to Texas, began Tuesday, posing a major threat to the supply chain that could impact Americans’ ability to afford products such as shoes, automobile parts, alcohol and certain foods.

The strike, which International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) president Harold Daggett warned could “cripple” the country’s economy, arose from contract negotiation disputes over wages and other issues between dockworkers and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX). Thirty-six ports have stopped operating due to the strike, prohibiting shipping operations that could cost $5 billion a day, according to a JP Morgan analysis.

The actions of the union, which represents some 85,000 workers, have worried officials. Many products across multiple industries could be affected (although workers have agreed to handle all military shipments). “We just don’t realize how much money goes through these different ports, but it’s literally billions of dollars a year in imports and exports,” says Gregory DeYong, associate professor of operations management at Southern Illinois University. “Every day represents a huge loss to the economy and a potential shortage for people shopping in retail stores. »

Fifty-three organizations representing manufacturers, farmers, retailers and more wrote a letter to President Joe Biden on September 17 urging him to help facilitate negotiations. A single day of strike results in five days of delay, the letter states.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul issued a statement Tuesday morning warning that the state was working diligently to ensure grocery stores and medical facilities have the products they need. Experts say that while the repercussions of the strike will be felt across the country, the disruption to the supply chain of goods did not arise unexpectedly, as COVID-19 did. “These port strikes are wake-up call disruptions,” says Arash Azadegan, a professor at Rutgers Business School. “This helps organizations be better prepared. »

Here are some of the products at stake in the strike.

Fruits, chocolate and alcohol

In 2023, U.S. ports received 39.4 million tons of agricultural products worth more than $110 billion, according to the American Farm Bureau.

The Bureau warns that the impact of this billion-dollar strike will be particularly felt on the East and Gulf coasts. Nine major ports account for more than 90% of all East Coast containerized agricultural exports, which can transport everything from animal feed to refrigerated meat products, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

DeYong says that while some manufacturers have begun stockpiling goods in anticipation of the strike, others, particularly in the agricultural sector, have not. “The biggest things we’re going to see early on are perishable products that retailers can’t stock,” he says.

Consumers are likely to experience shortages and delays for bananas, three-quarters of which pass through ports managed by the ILA, according to the Farm Bureau. Cherries, canned goods, hot peppers and chocolate, all heavily imported, will also be affected. “All the products that we get from South America that, even if we could put them on trains, just don’t have enough capacity to get them on a train to get here, (will be impacted),” DeYong said. He predicts that grapes and avocados will experience shortages.

Alcohol is another affected category, as the United States regularly imports beer, wine, whiskey, scotch and rum into affected ports, according to the Farm Bureau.

The United States could also face the opposite problem: getting products out of the country. Soybean and poultry producers will likely face oversupply domestically if they are unable to sell their products abroad.

Shoes

The American Apparel and Footwear Association was one of the retailers that signed a letter to Biden. The organization imports more than 50 percent of its U.S. clothing, shoes and accessories through Eastern and Gulf ports, according to a September press release.

“This disruption would occur during the peak holiday shipping season and would further increase the price of goods, causing inflation to skyrocket,” the statement said. “This potential shipping crisis will create a shortage of goods while the goods still available will cost American families dearly.”

The American Home Furnishings Alliance, Fashion Accessories Shippers Association, Florida Retail Federation and others also signed the letter.

Auto parts

The auto care industry also relies heavily on East Coast and Gulf ports. The Auto Care Association warns that the strike would make it difficult for repair shops and distributors to meet demand for certain products and parts.

“More than four million Americans working in the auto service industry rely on the constant flow of automotive parts and products passing through our ports every day to get their jobs done,” said Bill Hanvey, president of the Auto Care Association, in a press release. “Every day this strike continues, not only does our industry lose hundreds of millions of dollars in business, but the nearly 300 million Americans who drive face greater risks on the road as access to maintenance and repair of their vehicles decreases. »

Last year, almost a quarter of all auto parts were imported through the affected ports, according to the press release. Although many companies have recently diverted their goods to West Coast ports in anticipation of the strike, those ports are also overloaded.

“Just because we get our product through a West Coast port doesn’t mean we’re actually going to get it,” DeYong says. “Demand is currently high at West Coast ports because they are open. They don’t have the capacity to handle everything, so there are going to be traffic jams. »

The cost of shipping goods has also increased, meaning consumers will see an increase in product prices.

Electronic

The United States depends on supplies of electronics from Asian countries, particularly China, which regularly send electronic chips. According to Azadegan, this dependence means people could experience shortages of certain electronic devices like cell phones.

Medical supplies

Experts say people shouldn’t worry about the strike’s impact on medical supplies. Unlike other goods, these products or prescriptions can often be shipped via alternative routes, such as by air. “Yes, it will cost more. Yes, there might be more pain and agony for your supply managers and logistics managers, but ultimately I think most hospitals and clinics and healthcare facilities are able to pay a little more to get their supplies,” Azadegan says.

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