Surge of imports continues as possible East Coast port strike looms

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Imports of U.S. instrumentality cargo successful August jumped 12.9% from a twelvemonth agone arsenic a summertime measurement surge delayed cargo astatine large ports and anxiousness builds implicit a threatened longshore idiosyncratic onslaught connected the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico connected Oct. 1, commercialized information supplier Descartes Systems Group said connected Tuesday.

U.S. seaports processed astir 2.5 cardinal 20-foot equivalent units successful August. That was 3% little than successful July, erstwhile imports deed a 26-month high. Volume supra 2.4 cardinal TEU created bottlenecks and cargo backups successful the aboriginal days of the pandemic, according to Descartes, a supply-chain bundle provider.

The International Longshoremen's Association represents 45,000 dock workers astatine 3 twelve U.S. ports from Maine to Texas and handles astir fractional of the nation's water trade.

ILA said past week its members are prepared to deed the streets if they bash not person a caller declaration with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) leader radical successful spot erstwhile the existent six-year statement expires connected Sept. 30.

The 2 sides are astatine an impasse implicit issues ranging from wages and benefits to automation.

A.P. Moller-Maersk, the second-largest instrumentality bearer and a subordinate of USMX, told customers connected Tuesday that the anticipation of a onslaught astatine ports including New York/New Jersey, Houston and Savannah, Georgia, increases each time without a settled declaration successful hand.

"Should a wide enactment stoppage hap connected the U.S. Gulf and East Coasts, adjacent a one-week shutdown could instrumentality 4-6 weeks to retrieve from, with important backlogs and delays compounding with each passing day," Maersk said.

A caller inclination by U.S. retailers to propulsion guardant vacation promotions suggests they person been rushing successful seasonal goods to mitigate the hazard of cargo getting stranded during a strike.

Walmart and Target, 2 of the largest instrumentality shipping customers, held aboriginal back-to-school income to fend disconnected contention from Amazon.com's Prime Day. The precocious timing of Thanksgiving this twelvemonth is shortening the Christmas buying play and boosting the likelihood of aboriginal promotions.

An summation successful industrial-sector shipments besides amplified the aboriginal emergence successful incoming volume, commercialized researchers said.

(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein successful Los Angeles, further reporting by Stine Jacobsen successful Copenhagen; Editing by Matthew Lewis)