October 30, 2024 – 8:06 AM PDT
(Reuters) – U.S. shippers are steering clear of East and Gulf Coast ports amid worries the 45,000 dockworkers at those trade hubs will go on strike again if their union leader does not land a new contract with employers by a Jan. 15 deadline.
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The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) labor union and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer group had ended a three-day strike in October with a tentative agreement on wages, but left the thorny issue of port automation still to be resolved.
“Anything we expect that we need in the back half of January, we’re effectively diverting to…
