California Here We Come

California Here We Come

Nearly one-third of logistics managers polled in a CNBC survey do not know how much trade they would return to West Coast ports after an International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) labor deal is reached.

Negotiations between the Pacific Maritime Association and the ILWU, which represents 22,000 West Coast port workers, began on May 10, 2022. Although a previous agreement expired on July 1, 2022, operations continue throughout negotiations.

West Coast ports have seen some business shift, however, as companies look to avoid any hiccups caused by labor issues—just more than half of those surveyed (51%) admitted that they did divert some trade due to the ongoing negotiations.

In the survey, 18% of respondents said following an agreement, they would bring back 10% of their diverted trade, 12% said they would bring back 20%, and 12% would bring back 60% of their diverted trade.

If business were to come back to the West Coast, it could affect the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which in September 2022 became the busiest port in the United States in terms of processing containers after starting the year behind the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.