As of 1 October 2024, the labor contract between United States Maritime Alliance, Ltd. (USMX) and the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) has expired, and ILA members are now on strike. Dozens of major ocean terminals on the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts will remain closed for the duration of the work stoppage.
Some carriers have already invoked Force Majeure or implemented additional charges related to recent events. In commercial/international law, force majeure signifies an extraordinary and unforeseen event whose occurrence frees the agreed-upon parties from certain obligations to one another. Force majeure incidents typically include wars, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, pandemics, or civil unrest like riots.
- HSBC Global Research reports that the strike could impact >50% of U.S. imports and +/-15% of the global fleet. They warn that imports from Europe and Latin America could be stalled, while diversions of Asian imports could congest the U.S. West Coast.
- The expired agreement impacts workers at 6/10 of the busiest port facilities. Shipping analysts at Linerlytica noted: “The 14 ports controlled by the ILA handled 28.4m TEUs of containerized cargo in 2023, almost 550,000 TEU each week. For each week the strike continues, it would hold up [impact] 1.7% of the global containership fleet.”
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