Contract negotiations between the International Longshoremen’s Association and U.S. Maritime Alliance on a new labor agreement for port workers along the East and Gulf Coasts have stalled, increasing the potential for an Oct. 1 strike. Even though the majority of U.S. red meat exports flow out of the West Coast ports, U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) President and CEO Dan Halstrom says a strike in the east and south would still have a significant impact on the industry.
Halstrom notes 45% of waterborne U.S. pork exports were shipped through the East and Gulf Coast ports through July, while the share of waterborne beef exports was 30%, based on USMEF’s calculations from PIERS data.
“A high percentage of chilled beef goes out from the East Coast, in particular for destinations like Europe and Middle East. So we can’t overstate the importance of the East Coast and Gulf Coast ports, even though the West Coast is larger,” Halstrom says. “A very significant quantity is exported through the East and Gulf Coasts.”
Some of that traffic is already being re-routed through the West Coast ports, but there is not enough capacity to absorb all of the trade that would be impacted.
“Redirecting to the West Coast is a potential, very short-term solution, but it’s by no means a long-term solution at all, because it’s not just U.S. beef and pork. You’ve got all sorts of commodities that use these same ports. We’re challenged to export all of our product today using all the ports, so we cannot afford a shutdown in any part of the supply chain,” Halstrom continues.
USMEF and other organizations are urging the White House and Congress to do all in their power to bring the two sides back to the bargaining table to avoid a port shutdown.
“We need to get the White House or anyone else involved that can help to spur discussions to get back to the table and avoid any kind of interruption of service later this month,” Halstrom says.
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