Are you prepping for potential port strike.

Harry Le Hermit

Harry Le Hermit

Member
The International Longshoremen Association appears to be serious about striking on October 1st, on East and Gulf Coast ports. Currently these ports move about 50% of all container movement in the U.S. About half that 50% is from Asia; 30% of that 50% comes from Europe; and the rest from S.A. and others.

There hasn't been a lot of news about this, which I would imagine is an expectation of someone swooping in and halting any strike. And that might very well happen. But, shippers are already moving cargo towards the West Coast terminals, at a rate above their capability. Decisions about destinations can't flip overnight, but requires several weeks.
 

I try to buy everything USA made &/or grown. However, that may not help much if one of our companies depend on components from out of the country to operate.

Any idea @Harry Le Hermit what items come in through those ports? Already made to sell products or components for manufacturing things here?

Shipping items from the west coast to the east will make prices rise. Hopefully, the ports on the west coast won't strike in support of the others.
 

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Lilac said:
I try to buy everything USA made &/or grown. However, that may not help much if one of our companies depend on components from out of the country to operate.

Any idea @Harry Le Hermit what items come in through those ports? Already made to sell products or components for manufacturing things here?

Shipping items from the west coast to the east will make prices rise. Hopefully, the ports on the west coast won't strike in support of the others.
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There has been a considerable front loading of imports in anticipation. The West Coast is already beginning to congest, due to this. The West Coast settled their strike threat, in late spring of 2022, which had also seen considerable front loading. Enough so the trade deficit for the 1st half of 2022 was negative... directly due to this frontloading.

The issue would be the just in time folks, imho.

Currently the two sides are not even talking and this is two weeks to go. Whether there is a strike, is TBD, but the Union has been prepping the workers for over a year.

It may be that everyone is thinking someone will force them to the table, but I am not sure those people have their pagers turned on. They may be considering consequences of any action... as well.
 
Thank you for the heads up Harry. I hadn't heard about the strike. We tend to stock up on food, water, cleaning and personal care products anyway, so we should be good. However, I intend to buy a little more from Walmart before the month ends, while Discover is giving 5% cashbacks. A bundle of TP (30 rolls) from Costco is on my list for this week although we still have 11 rolls left (having enough TP is like a security blanket for me). I remember the shortages during COVID. Costco was out of their own brand of TP for a while, so maybe I'll tell my son to get two bundles. He's a truck driver and the strike may eventually affect how much work he gets.
 
Nothing specific for me but it is a good example of why we should always be prepared for life’s bumps and bruises.

Keeping a small closet/pantry stocked with everyday items, the gas tank full, a few dollars in the sugar bowl, a credit card with some wiggle room, etc… are all good policy in today’s world.

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I seen that the strike would begin at the end of Monday if nothing is settled at that time.

The union wants higher wages & a total ban on automation for cranes, gates & moving containers for loading/unloading of freight. The companies say they can't be competitive with other nations without automation.

I hope they can find a balance between the two, but it seems that a loss of jobs will be inevitable eventually either way. Maybe I'm wrong.
 
Lilac said:
I seen that the strike would begin at the end of Monday if nothing is settled at that time.

The union wants higher wages & a total ban on automation for cranes, gates & moving containers for loading/unloading of freight. The companies say they can't be competitive with other nations without automation.

I hope they can find a balance between the two, but it seems that a loss of jobs will be inevitable eventually either way. Maybe I'm wrong.
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I would recommend this site... What is Going on With Shipping?
BTW... the contract ends at end of Monday, and does not necessarily mean a work stoppage. The issue is shipping containers, and how many dock workers are really needed, in this age of automation. Which flows into pensions and their makeup, etc.

So if a walkout takes place, is it for everything, or targeted at certain areas?
 
Been prepping for short-term (3ish months) for years. My laptop has been gimpy for a few months now (keep losing my cursor) so will probably go ahead and replace it. Will also add to coffee stocks since a lot of coffee comes in through New Orleans.
 
I agree, Harry, with you that panic buying will begin. Good chance that items that don't have anything to do with being imported will go off the shelf. My husband's friend said he had his wife go out yesterday & stock up on coffee.

I hope the strike won't last long, but you don't know what will happen. If people panic, it will make it worse than it should be.

I do believe that everyone should have the things that are important to them in their homes already. To start your stash, buy two (use one, store one). When you use up the open one, buy two (one to replace used one & one to store).
 
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It is not just imported items that is the issue here. Since we buy most of our oil to produce the fuel that we use in our trucks and cars, once that oil stops coming in, trucks won’t be able to transport anything, and we will have fuel shortages, food shortages, and many other issues all stemming from a lack of oil to make fuel from.
Hopefully, they can resolve this sooner, rather than later, but what I saw on the news, the spokesperson said they are not doing anything about it right now.
Definitely filling up with fuel in your car and buying some extra storable groceries is an excellent idea. The head of the Longshoremen said on a video everything that would happen in the weeks to come, if their demands are not met.
 
Lilac said:
I agree, Harry, with you that panic buying will begin. Good chance that items that don't have anything to do with being imported will go off the shelf. My husband's friend said he had his wife go out yesterday & stock up on coffee.

I hope the strike won't last long, but you don't know what will happen. If people panic, it will make it worse than it should be.

I do believe that everyone should have the things that are important to them in their homes already. To start your stash, buy two (use one, store one). When you use up the open one, buy two (one to replace used one & one to store).
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And @AnnieA I could swear I heard well before the strike that coffee was either going to be in short supply or prices would rise. I remember telling my son to go out and get more before that happened. He buys a brand I'd never heard of before.
 
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