Dockworkers Throttle Ports; Shedding Warehouse Space; China Plus Many
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| International operations at the Port of Oakland, shown in March, were effectively shut down on Friday. PHOTO: JUSTIN SULLIVAN/GETTY IMAGES |
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| A new wave of job actions is casting uncertainty over imports at U.S. West Coast ports. Dockworkers have throttled cargo operations from Southern California to Seattle in a series of walkouts and slowdowns, the WSJ Logistics Report’s Paul Berger writes, in a blunt sign of deep divisions between the union and port employers after more than a year of contract negotiations. Those talks have come down to wages as the sides work on a multiyear contract covering some 22,000 workers. Progress in other areas had raised hopes the talks were nearing a conclusion. But a longshore union local pointed to enmity in the talks in a statement noting container shipping lines had made billions in profits during the Covid-19 pandemic while 43 dockworkers had died during the health crisis. Negotiators will try to narrow the divide this week as terminal operators and U.S. importers brace for more potential disruptions. |
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Operations and Supply Chain Management 