Notice! Ports facing congestion in coming weeks!

Sunny Worldwide LogisticsIt is a logistics company with more than 20 years of transportation experience. It is more of a cargo owner than a cargo owner~

The longshoremen's strike at major ports along the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast has finally come to an end.

The strike started on October 1 and lasted for three days. With the gradual restart of terminal operations on October 4, the US East and US Gulf ports are expected to usher in the busiest weeks in their history.

Although the strike ended earlier than investors expected, it will still take time to clear the backlog of cargo at the port, and the impact will continue to be felt.

At least 54 container ships were lined up outside the port during the strike, affecting the unloading of commodities ranging from bananas to auto parts, with more ships expected to arrive, according to Everstream Analytics.

Peter Sand, chief analyst at Xeneta, pointed out that it may take two to three weeks to resume normal cargo flow. The challenge for ports is not only to deal with the ships already in the queue, but also how to effectively eliminate congestion so that the supply chain can be restarted.

The most affected company is Walmart, which has containers at ports along the East Coast and Gulf Coast, with 837.2 TEU at the port and an average dwell time of more than 10 days, according to data from Vizion API.

The second most affected is Kuhn Nagel, with an average stay of over 16 days. DHL Global Express has only 293TEU at the port, with an average residence time of 37 days. Although fewer containers are affected, the residence time is longer.

And companies like IKEA and Home Depot rely on East Coast and Gulf of Mexico ports.

Although most retailers said they have stocked up in advance and that the short strike will not have a major impact on the supply of holiday products, prices of goods such as coffee have increased due to the strike, showing the fragility of the supply chain.

The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Union (USMX) announced a wage agreement late last Thursday. The average hourly wage for workers will increase from US to US, an increase of approximately 62%. Although this increase is slightly lower than the 77% previously requested by the union, it has been initially recognized by ILA members.

The strike, launched by 45,000 workers, affects 36 ports from Maine to Texas, and analysts at JPMorgan estimate the cost to the U.S. economy is about billion a day.

Although a tentative agreement ended the strike, the contract was only extended until January 15, and the two sides still need to continue negotiations on issues such as the use of automation.

The move is intended to provide a buffer period for both parties to return to the negotiating table and continue in-depth discussions on all other outstanding issues. This Agreement shall be effective immediately from the date of publication.

The National Retail Federation said that reaching a final agreement as soon as possible is good news for the entire national economy.

U.S. President Joe Biden praised the two sides for reaching an agreement to reopen the ports, noting that this preliminary agreement represents a key step towards reaching a strong contract. He thanked union workers, container lines and port operators for their patriotic actions.