U.S. companies dependent on East Coast and Gulf Coast seaports imported early, shifting goods to the West Coast and even putting cargo on expensive flights to hedge against a looming Oct. 1 strike that could freeze supply chains and could reignite inflation ahead of the US. presidential elections.
“This is just another headache after everything else we’ve been dealing with,” said Kenneth Sanchez, CEO of Chesapeake Specialty Products, which ships goods such as metal abrasives and foundry sand additives used to make engine blocks and transmissions to customers. the whole world sends.
Its main port is in Baltimore, one of three dozen under an expiring contract between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) union, which represents 45,000 longshoremen, and the employers’ group United States Maritime Alliance, whose wage renewal talks are at an impasse.
