The impact of the strike in the Eastern United States may last throughout the year, and shippers are preparing for a new round of strikes

Sunny Worldwide Logistics is a logistics company with more than 20 years of transportation experience, specializing in markets such as Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia, and Southeast Asia. It is more of a cargo owner than a cargo owner~

Although the strike on the east coast of the United States was short-lived, lasting only three days, the deep-seated conflicts related to port automation hidden behind it were not fundamentally resolved, but were postponed to January 15, 2025. This strike not only directly affected current operations, but also had a profound impact on subsequent market dynamics.

During the strike, a large number of ships were forced to berth outside U.S. ports, as many as 63 according to statistics. This directly caused the ships to be unable to transport as planned, and also affected the shipping capacity of the departure port. Considering the congestion of ships and cargo, it is expected to take 2-3 weeks to fully resume normal operations.

This impact is not limited to the East Coast of the United States, but also affects transatlantic shipping routes. Looking at Europe, there are typically 23 flights per week between Europe and the US East Coast, and the transit time from the US East Coast back to Europe is approximately 2 weeks. This means that container shipping capacity from Europe to the US East Coast will be reduced in mid-October.

Essentially, a half-week delay in berthing means that half of the capacity expected to be available in Europe 2 weeks later will not be available on time, but will only be delayed. This has resulted in a market capacity reduction of approximately 10-15% on the westbound transatlantic route this week.

In addition, due to differences in sailing distance and operation recovery time, capacity in other regions such as South America and the Far East will also be affected to varying degrees, but the impact will be more dispersed and delayed. In South America, this will occur in the second half of October; in the Far East, capacity reductions are expected to occur around mid-November.

Faced with this situation, shippers need to take proactive risk management measures to reduce the risk of possible future strikes. Consideration may be given to shipping shipments to alternative routes via the U.S. West Coast, or delivery via U.S. East Coast ports in time for January 15th. For cargo originating from Asia, this means loading export cargoes by the end of November at the latest. At the same time, some shippers are preparing in advance for the strike (just as they are preparing for this strike in advance during the 2024 summer peak season). Therefore, shippers also need to pay close attention to market dynamics and formulate reasonable transportation plans to avoid being affected by future market fluctuations.

For shipping companies, they also need to pay attention to market dynamics and changes in shipper demand. If airlines are really worried about a new strike, they should see an unusual surge in orders from Asia to the East United States in the second half of November. From Latin America, this will be the first half of December, while from Europe, exports may surge in the second half of December. This surge not only reflects shippers’ concerns about future market volatility, but also reflects shippers’ strategic adjustments in risk management.

Overall, although the strike on the East Coast of the United States has ended, its impact on the global shipping market will continue for some time. Shippers and airlines need to pay close attention to market dynamics and formulate reasonable risk management strategies and transportation plans to cope with possible challenges in the future. At the same time, it is also necessary to actively seek ways to resolve deep-seated conflicts to promote the long-term stable development of the shipping market.