Long Beach Waives Fees for Strike-Affected Terminals; Attention Turns Eastward

The three Port of Long Beach terminals closed by the recent work stoppage will have some cargo fees waived to provide financial relief and to expedite the movement of containers, port officials said (here). "We are relieved to return to full operations and we want to do our part in getting things back to normal as soon as possible," said Port of Long Beach Executive Director Christopher Lytle. All terminals at the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles reopened Wednesday morning (see ITT's Online Archives 12120534). The impacted terminals were LBCT (Pier F), ITS (Pier G) and TTI (Pier T).

Neither port employers nor the union immediately responded to queries about terms of the new contract. But the contract reportedly is for six years, retroactive to June 30, 2010, meaning it will expire June 30, 2016.

"Our attention now shifts to the East and Gulf Coast ports, where federal mediators have been locked in prolonged discussions with labor and management for the past two months," said National Retail Federation CEO Matthew Shay (here): "We urge the parties to reach a final agreement before their contract extension ends at the end of December. Retailers, manufacturers and the rest of the business community cannot afford another shutdown. Our economy cannot withstand another port disruption."

A potential strike by longshoremen at the East Coast and Gulf ports Dec. 29 "could have devastating economic consequences," said a report by insurance broker Marsh (here): "Those not prepared for such disruption could face adverse operational and economic impacts including increased expenses, decreased revenues, loss of market share, and reputational damage." The report said a strike would mean retail, agriculture, food, and beverage companies would be "hit especially hard due to their profit-driven strategy of keeping inventory levels low and the sudden and severe backlog and rerouting pressures caused by a work stoppage."

For each day of backlog accumulated during a port closure, affected organizations would typically need about eight days to stabilize inventory levels within their supply chains, the report said. Marsh said that, in addition to port-of-entry diversification, companies also should consider alternative sourcing and buying strategies, changes to their manufacturing process, and risk financing solutions, including voyage frustration and trade disruption insurance.