September 24, 2024

Port strikes threaten US meat exports, warns industry leader

Contract negotiations between the International Longshoremen's Association and the US Maritime Alliance have stalled, raising the risk of a strike at East and Gulf Coast ports on October 1, 2024, which could affect the US meat industry, Farm Journal's Pork reported.

While most US red meat exports flow through West Coast ports, the potential strike could still significantly affect the industry, according to US Meat Export Federation (USMEF) President and CEO Dan Halstrom.

Halstrom emphasised the importance of East and Gulf Coast ports for the export of chilled beef, particularly to markets in Europe and the Middle East. "We can't overstate the importance of the East Coast and Gulf Coast ports, even though the West Coast is larger," Halstrom said. "A significant quantity is exported through the East and Gulf Coasts."

In anticipation of potential disruptions, some export traffic is already being rerouted through West Coast ports. However, Halstrom cautioned that the West Coast lacks the capacity to handle all the trade that could be affected by a strike.

"Redirecting to the West Coast is a very short-term solution, but it's not sustainable," he added. "It's not just US beef and pork; many commodities use these ports, and we're already challenged to export all of our products. A shutdown in any part of the supply chain would be disastrous."

USMEF, along with other organisations, is urging the White House and Congress to intervene and bring the negotiating parties back to the table to prevent a port shutdown.

"We need to get the White House or anyone else involved to help restart discussions and avoid service interruptions later this month," Halstrom said.

Through July, 45% of waterborne US pork exports and 30% of beef exports were shipped via East and Gulf Coast ports, according to USMEF's analysis of PIERS data.

-      Farm Journal's Pork