A supply chain snarl from earlier this year may spill over to cause problems in 2025.
On Oct. 1, the International Longshoremen's Association went on strike against the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX), which represents ports along the U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast. The groups reached an agreement to return to work on Oct. 3, but with a key caveat: negotiations would continue to solve remaining issues by Jan. 15.
Now we're just a few weeks out from that new deadline, but there's no settlement. The biggest sticking point continues to be the ports' desire to invest in new technology that would automate much of the work, while union members see that as an attempt to eliminate good-paying jobs.
President-elect Donald Trump took the union's side in a post on Truth Social this month, saying that "the amount of money saved" is not worth the harm it causes for workers. USMX issued a statement in response on Dec. 12 that the industry needs modern technology to support American consumers and businesses.
If a strike resumes on Jan. 15, then it'll affect billions and billions of pounds of resin exports via ports along the Gulf of Mexico alone.
But conditions may not reach the point of another strike — or a prolonged one. Back in October, Plastics News published Frank Esposito's big overview of the potential impact from the dock strike just hours before it ended. A similar story played out during a Canadian rail strike in July that saw a settlement within 48 hours.