If looming labour negotiations at U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports break down before the September 30 deadline, shippers may divert some cargo away from the East Coast, Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said on May 20.
Importers and exporters have told Seroka that they’ve “shifted fractionally back towards the West Coast” due to a myriad of issues, including security concerns regarding the Red Sea, previous drought restrictions at the Panama Canal and East Coast labour negotiations.
The port director said there hasn’t been “a wholesale shift,” however, estimating between 2% to 5% of shippers’ cargo has been moving from East and Gulf Coast gateways back to the West Coast.
Shippers don’t want “to be the last to make sure that they have vessel allocation and empty containers ready for their imports to the U.S. before it’s too late down the line into peak season,” he said.
Read more in an article from Supply Chain Dive.