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US port strike postponed until January
Spirits producers will be relieved after strike action across dozens of US ports was suspended until the new year.
Nearly 50,000 employees across 36 US ports went on strike on 1 October 2024 after a six-year contract expired between dockworkers and the US Maritime Alliance (USMX), following pay discussions that broke down in June.
However, the industrial action has now been postponed until the new year after the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) union’s current contract with USMX was extended until 15 January 2025.
In a joint statement released yesterday (3 October), the ILA and USMX confirmed they had resumed talks to “negotiate all other outstanding issues”. The maritime union and the USMX, which represents container carriers and port associations, now have several months to discuss a new contract.
The ILA, the largest union of maritime workers in the US, went on strike after rejecting a wage offer from USMX, calling out shipping companies for making huge profits and hiking up prices for shipping containers.
Chris Swonger, president and CEO of trade body the Distilled Spirits Council of the US (Discus), said the strike would cause “severe disruption” to the industry.
He warned that the action could impact spirits exports at a “critical time” as companies typically ship more products ahead of the festive season.
“In 2023, 77% of US distilled spirits exports and 43% of distilled spirits imports passed through the ports,” he added.
Swonger noted that any disruption could “bottleneck supply chains, delay product deliveries, and result in product shortages”.
The impact of the three-day strike on the spirits sector is not yet known.
However, chief operating officer of alcohol importer MHW, John Wrenn, previously said a one-day port strike could take an entire week for businesses like his to recover, while a seven-day walkout could mean four to six weeks of recovery.
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