UPDATE
The union representing 45,000 striking U.S. dockworkers at East and Gulf coast ports reached a deal Thursday to suspend a three-day strike until January 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract. (full update here)
Three days into the International Longshoremen’s Association strike, the stress on the supply chain is building.
The strike has brought 36 ports all along the East and Gulf Coasts to a standstill, and the nation is looking at a delay in imported goods like alcohol, toys, produce, pharmaceuticals, and electronics. Perishable produce, such as bananas, will be the first to be impacted by a shortage in supply, causing an increase in prices.
There is no telling how long this strike will last as The Longshoremen’s Association negotiates wage increases and bans the use of port automation with The United States Maritime Alliance. Experts say the current daily hit to the U.S. Economy due to the strike is around $500 million, but as it possibly continues for several weeks, that number could rise to $2 billion per day.
On the other side, American businesses that export their products globally, like agricultural exporters of soybeans and poultry, will see a delay in their shipments, or possibly not be able to export at all.
One thing the strike has shed light on is increasing our local economic resiliency. The Great Falls Development Alliance (GFDA) has been continuously working to integrate more North American-made goods into the supply chain.
“We always try to increase our resiliency as a region and increase opportunities for Montana businesses to have a greater impact in that supply chain and frankly, take some of the risk away," GFDA Executive Vice President Jolene Schalper says. "We need to increase our cross docking. We need to increase our warehousing capabilities here. So, we were really digging into these opportunities.
Some of these opportunities include further utilizing the I-15 corridor and railways to gain further access to the flow of goods coming through Central Montana between Canada and Mexico, and continuing to grow and support strong entrepreneurial activities in the region.
“We’re always looking for companies that are looking to locate in the U.S. for their manufacturing or start in the U.S. for their manufacturing. That adds more resiliency to our overall U.S. economy," Schalper says.
