Workers

The dockworkers strike

Time -  Fruits, chocolate, and alcohol: In 2023, U.S. ports took in 39.4 million metric tons in agricultural products worth more than $110 billion, according to the American Farm Bureau. The Bureau warns that the strike’s billion-dollar impact will especially be felt across the East and Gulf coasts. Nine major ports makeup more than 90% of all East Coast containerized agricultural exports, which can carry anything from animal feed to refrigerated meat products, per the U.S. Department of Agriculture...

Consumers are likely to feel shortages and delays on bananas, three-fourths of which pass through ILA-handled ports, according to the Farm Bureau. Cherries, canned food, hot peppers, and chocolate, all of which are heavily imported, will also be affected. “Any products we get from South America that, even if we could put them on trains, there's just not enough capacity to bring them up on a train to get here, [will be impacted],” DeYong says. He predicts grapes and avocados will experience shortages.

Alcohol is another impacted category, as the U.S. regularly imports beer, wine, whiskey, scotch, and rum at impacted ports, per the Farm Bureau. 

The U.S. may also experience problems in the reverse: getting products out of the country. Soybean farmers and poultry producers will likely experience domestic oversupply if they aren’t able to sell their products overseas. 

Shoes: The American Apparel and Footwear Association was one of the retailers that signed a letter to Biden. The organization imports more than 50% of its U.S. apparel, footwear, and accessories along the East and Gulf ports, according to a September press release. “This disruption would occur during peak holiday shipping season and raise the price of goods even higher, sending inflation skyrocketing,” the statement said. “This potential shipping crisis will create a scarcity of goods while goods that are still available will be costly for American families.”

Auto parts: The autocare industry also heavily relies on the East and Gulf Coast ports. The Auto Care Association warns that the strike would make it difficult for repair shops and distributors to meet demands for certain products and parts...

Last year, nearly a quarter of all automotive parts were imported through the affected ports, according to the press release. While many companies have recently diverted their goods to West Coast ports in anticipation of the strike, those ports are also being overburdened. 

“Just because we're getting our products through a West Coast port, doesn't mean we're actually going to get that,” says DeYong. “Demand is high at the West Coast ports now because they're open. They don't have the capacity to handle everything so there's going to be congestion.”

Electronics: The U.S. depends on getting electronics from Asian countries, including China, which regularly send over microchips.... People might experience shortages of certain electronics like cell phones.

Medical supplies: Experts say that people should not stress over the strike’s impact on medical supplies. Unlike other goods, these products or prescriptions can often be shipped through alternative routes such as by aircraft.