The United States East wharf strike is imminent, ONE, Yangming executives express views
In response to the strike planned by the US East Coast Port Union (ILA) to begin in the early hours of October 1, many liner companies have announced surcharges, and some liner executives have also spoken out on the incident.
Jeremy Nixon, CEO of Ocean Network Shipping (ONE), said: "We are actively responding to the upcoming strike, which is expected to halt operations at all terminals on the East Coast of the United States, at which time container ships heading to the East Coast of the United States will be grounded."
Nixon said that the vast majority of the company's customers have shipped their goods in advance to reduce the risk, and a few customers have diverted their goods to the West Coast of the United States, but this move has some risk.
He further explained that the ILA has made it clear that it will prevent liner companies from redirecting ships to ports on the West Coast of the United States. As a result, ships bound for U.S. Eastern ports will have to wait in anchorage until the strike is over.
At the same time, ports in places like Mexico and Canada are hardly an effective alternative. According to Nixon, Mexican and Canadian ports have limited capacity to handle more freight demand, and the industry as a whole faces great uncertainty.
He further analyzed that in the first week of the strike, ships can also take the port mode and find other places to dock at the port to unload, but in the second week, the impact will be unpredictable, which will be a major test for ship scheduling, and it is difficult to judge the extent of the impact.
Bai Kunrong also said that the current market freight rate is declining due to supply and demand changes, but the Red Sea crisis is still difficult to ease in the short term, coupled with geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East, the United States East port strike and other factors, will affect the fourth quarter supply chain, so the future of the container market is extremely uncertain.
At present, in order to cope with the risk of strikes, Maersk, CMA, Hapag-Lloyd, Evergreen Shipping, Yangming Shipping, HMM and other liner companies have announced related surcharges.
It is understood that the ILA has planned to start the strike in the early hours of October 1 after the two sides failed to reach a new labor agreement.
The agreement covers 36 ports on the East and Gulf coasts of the United States, including 25,000 longshoremen who provide container and ro-ro services. If the ILA takes action, it would be the first strike in nearly 50 years. "Our members have been preparing for a possible strike for more than a year," the ILA stressed.
At a time when about half of U.S. seaborne imports pass through ports on the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast, the impact of the strike is clear.
The general consensus in the industry is that it takes four to six weeks to recover from the impact of a one-week strike, and if the strike lasts more than two weeks, the negative impact will continue into next year.
Jeremy Nixon, CEO of Ocean Network Shipping (ONE), said: "We are actively responding to the upcoming strike, which is expected to halt operations at all terminals on the East Coast of the United States, at which time container ships heading to the East Coast of the United States will be grounded."
ONE CEO Jeremy Nixon
Nixon said that the vast majority of the company's customers have shipped their goods in advance to reduce the risk, and a few customers have diverted their goods to the West Coast of the United States, but this move has some risk.
He further explained that the ILA has made it clear that it will prevent liner companies from redirecting ships to ports on the West Coast of the United States. As a result, ships bound for U.S. Eastern ports will have to wait in anchorage until the strike is over.
At the same time, ports in places like Mexico and Canada are hardly an effective alternative. According to Nixon, Mexican and Canadian ports have limited capacity to handle more freight demand, and the industry as a whole faces great uncertainty.
He further analyzed that in the first week of the strike, ships can also take the port mode and find other places to dock at the port to unload, but in the second week, the impact will be unpredictable, which will be a major test for ship scheduling, and it is difficult to judge the extent of the impact.
Bai Kunrong also said that the current market freight rate is declining due to supply and demand changes, but the Red Sea crisis is still difficult to ease in the short term, coupled with geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East, the United States East port strike and other factors, will affect the fourth quarter supply chain, so the future of the container market is extremely uncertain.
At present, in order to cope with the risk of strikes, Maersk, CMA, Hapag-Lloyd, Evergreen Shipping, Yangming Shipping, HMM and other liner companies have announced related surcharges.
It is understood that the ILA has planned to start the strike in the early hours of October 1 after the two sides failed to reach a new labor agreement.
The agreement covers 36 ports on the East and Gulf coasts of the United States, including 25,000 longshoremen who provide container and ro-ro services. If the ILA takes action, it would be the first strike in nearly 50 years. "Our members have been preparing for a possible strike for more than a year," the ILA stressed.
At a time when about half of U.S. seaborne imports pass through ports on the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast, the impact of the strike is clear.
The general consensus in the industry is that it takes four to six weeks to recover from the impact of a one-week strike, and if the strike lasts more than two weeks, the negative impact will continue into next year.
