U.S. retailers could be forced within days to find alternative ways to import goods unless the threat of a strike by domestic dockworkers at ports stretching from Maine to Texas lifts, the sector’s main lobby group warned Monday.
Contract negotiations between dockworkers and employers at U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast ports turned frosty last week, raising the specter of labor unrest during the critical peak shipping season in the fall.
The National Retail Federation urged the two sides to hold fresh talks and said some members had taken measures to ensure goods reached shelves.
“Now that there is a real risk of disruption, most retailers using the East and Gulf Coast ports will be forced to executive contingency plans within the next week to meet in-store holiday deadlines,” Federation chief executive Matthew Shay said in a statement.
Shay added that a dispute could drive shippers away from East Coast and Gulf Coast ports, citing the shift in their favor after a 2002 dockworkers’ dispute on the West Coast.
A scheduled three-day session of talks between port operators and the main dockworkers’ union broke up early last week, with the existing contract due to expire Sept. 30.
