As you read this blog, an armada of more than two dozen cargo ships sits just off the California coast—unable to unload cargo at either of the two busiest seaports in the United States, because of a labor impasse between the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU).
When operations at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach come to a halt, small-business owners, suppliers, and consumers around the world suffer. Medical supplies cannot reach patients at hospitals, car parts cannot reach manufacturing facilities, and furniture and clothing cannot reach retail stores—potentially costing the national economy nearly $2 billion a day in lost activity.
As the cargo ships remain parked as far as the eye can see, we need to be concerned not just about the impact today, but about losing future business at the Ports. Smaller, rapidly growing seaports in Canada, Mexico and other regions of the United States, threaten to take advantage of the labor strife and slowdowns, and will incentivize shippers to take their business elsewhere. Once we start losing customers at the Ports, it will become incredibly difficult to win them back.
This labor dispute, which has already cost the local economy millions, has far reaching consequences that will severely impact the economic livelihood of our country. The PMA and ILWU must come to a resolution soon, so that the two largest seaports in the Western hemisphere can get back to work.