Long lines of container ships queued up outside major U.S. ports on Thursday as the biggest dockworker strike in nearly half a century entered its third day preventing unloading and threatening shortages of everything from bananas to auto parts.
No negotiations were scheduled between the International Longshoremen’s Association and employers, but the port owners, under pressure from the White House to hike their pay offer to land a deal, signaled late on Wednesday they were open to new talks.
At least 45 container vessels that have been unable to unload had anchored up outside the strike-stricken East Coast and Gulf Coast ports by Wednesday, up from just three before the strike began on Sunday, according to Everstream Analytics.
“Many seem to have decided to wait it out, possibly in hopes of a prompt resolution to the strike action, rather than taking the proactive decision to divert,” said Everstream’s Jena Santoro in a video presentation seen by Reuters.
She said the vessel backlog could double by the end of the week, and that the resulting congestion could take weeks, if not months, to clear.
One alternative would be to sail to West Coast ports on the other side of the country, likely using the Panama Canal, a journey of thousands of miles that would hike costs and add weeks to delivery times.
The ILA launched its strike by 45,000 port workers from Maine to Texas, its first major stoppage since 1977, on Tuesday after talks for a new six-year contract with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer group broke down.
