Yesterday evening, October 3rd, both the ILA and the USMX reached a tentative agreement, leading the union to suspend their work stoppage along the 14 major East and Gulf Coast ports. Workers are already back at their posts this morning, Friday, October 4th, in full swing, bringing a sigh of relief to stake holders & consumers around the country.
The agreement to extend the current Master Contract, highlighted by wage increases and terms regarding port automation, will run through January 15th, 2025. This buys the two sides, and shippers across the globe, multiple months of détente while everyone works towards a new contract.
What does this mean for the backlog of ships waiting outside the ports, the cargo inside the ports, and the exports waiting to get on a vessel? As we mentioned previously, the general rule of thumb is: one day of work stoppage results in 5 days to clear. That leads us to expect that the three days of work stoppage will ensnare schedules on the East and Gulf Coasts until the middle of the month, but is likely to be resolved by Halloween.
Expect some delays for all container arrivals to the effected ports over the coming weeks, with schedules returning to normal in November. As we have reported in our October Port Report, global vessel schedules are still hovering around 55% reliability, even before the strike. Patience will be key in the coming weeks.
The local port authorities, Coast Guard, and the vessels themselves will work in tandem to coordinate berths, loading, and unloading. Sources say that it is likely ports will be berthing in the order that vessels arrived for non-perishable goods. It will take time, but the ports are already seeing new ships berth in ports like Savannah, GA.
We are working with our vendor contacts and carriers to get as much information as we can, and to get affected containers unloaded and on the way to their next destination. Please contact your Freight Manager if you have any questions about specific containers.