US Port Strike Expected on Tuesday, New York’s Hochul Says

(Bloomberg) — New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she fully expects a strike by dockworkers to go ahead, which will halt operations at East and Gulf coast trade gateways including the Port of New York-New Jersey, the nation’s busiest Atlantic hub for international commerce.

“The food supply is secure right now,” Hochul said during a press conference Monday, while urging people not to rush out to grocery stores to stockpile supplies as they did during the pandemic.

The US Maritime Alliance, a group known as USMX that represents ocean carriers and port terminal operators, and the International Longshoremen’s Association have no talks planned before their contract expires at midnight — setting the stage for a strike to start Tuesday.

In a statement on Monday, the ILA said USMX “continues to block the path toward a settlement” on a new contract and “seems intent on causing a strike at all ports from Maine to Texas beginning in almost 12 hours.”

JPMorgan Chase & Co. transport analysts estimate the shutdown of eastern and Gulf ports could have an economic impact of between $3.8 billion to $4.5 billion a day, “some of which would be recovered after a return to normal operations over time.”

Hochul said about 47,000 workers are set to strike, including 4,500 in the New York and New Jersey area. While there are supplies and consumer goods in warehouses, residents could start seeing depleted store shelves if there’s a prolonged stoppage of a few weeks, officials said.

“We’re deeply concerned about the impact that a strike could have on our supply chains, especially when it comes to critical goods like medical supplies and others,” Hochul said.

The governor said state agencies have been working with the supply chain industry to get cargo off ships and out of port terminals ahead of the potential strike.

Rick Cotton, the NY-NJ Port Authority’s executive director, said the facility anticipates close to 100,000 containers will be stored at the NJ-NJ port and remain there for the duration of the strike. The 35 ships coming in or arriving at the port over the next week are expected to go to anchorage.

Automobile shipments may be caught up in the disruptions. “If you’re expecting to be able to get a new car this week, it may be something you want to check with your dealer,” Hochul said. “It may not be arriving, for example, in the next few weeks.”

Hochul said shipments of semiconductor chips may also be halted. “There’s a lot of areas where people may not have anticipated a disruption, but we have. We’re working closely with the industry,” she said.

Brian Dodge, the president of the Retail Industry Leaders Association, urged both sides to return to the negotiating table and called on the Biden administration to stay engaged by considering “all options” to keep the US economy going.

“Shoppers can rest assured holiday merchandise will be on shelves,” Dodge said in an emailed statement Monday. “However, the longer this work stoppage goes on, the harder it will become to shield customers from its effects.”

President Joe Biden said Sunday he wouldn’t intervene in any dockworkers strike. Resolving the dispute is a matter for collective bargaining, he told reporters in Delaware.

(Adds detail on workers in sixth paragraph, comments in final two)

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