A potential strike at\u00a0U.S.\u00a0seaports on the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico could back up cargo there for weeks or even months,\u00a0shipping\u00a0experts said\u00a0on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Retailers like Walmart and other importers have been rushing goods in ahead of the September 30 expiration of the union contract covering some 45,000 dockworkers at three dozen seaports from Texas to Maine.<\/p>\n
Their goal? To\u00a0land cargo in the U.S. before October 1, when the International Longshoremen\u2019s Association representing those workers has vowed to strike if a new contract is not in place.<\/p>\n
Analysts at Sea-Intelligence, a Copenhagen-based shipping advisory firm, estimated that it could take anywhere from four to six days to clear the backlog from a one-day strike.\u00a0\u201cThis means that a (one)-week strike in the beginning of October would not be cleared until mid-November,\u201d Sea-Intelligence CEO Alan Murphy said in a statement.<\/p>\n
A two-week strike could mean that\u00a0ports would not return to normal operations until 2025, Murphy said.<\/p>\n