JUNE 1, 2023:
West Coast ports in the U.S. started negotiating a new labor contract just over a year ago (May 2022). While working without a new contract in place isn’t unheard of, the contract has now been expired for over 10 months. A report from the U.S. Meat Export Federation says the labor uncertainty is having an impact on red meat exports.
“There’s a lot of questions and uncertainty surrounding the west coast ports,” says USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom. “Those ports are a vital starting point for a large number of our shipments to Asia.”
The Long Beach and LA ports shut down in mid-April and were followed by further disruptions later that month. He says USMEF is seeing a reduction in imports, and some discretionary cargo is getting diverted away to ports in the Gulf of Mexico and the East Coast. “This isn’t good news for the meat industry,” he says.
MAY 19, 2023:
West Coast Longshoremen and terminal operators started negotiations on a new labor contract on May 10, 2022. The talks have continued for more than a year without resolution, and port workers have been without a contract for 10 months.
U.S. Meat Export Federation President and CEO Dan Halstrom says this situation is definitely impacting U.S. red meat exports. West Coast ports have seen periodic work stoppages, and the uncertain labor environment is causing some import cargo to be diverted to ports on the East and Gulf Coasts. Over the long term, this will reduce the number of ships available for exports from the West Coast, a key gateway for all of U.S. agriculture.
In this USMEF Report, Halstrom discusses the importance of West Coast ports to red meat exports and the urgent need for a resolution to the labor talks.
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