As of this morning, it appears that there has been no progress between the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX). The two sides remain far apart and no negotiations are taking place at this time. Barring any last-minute breakthroughs, a work stoppage will begin at 12:00am on October 1st. It would be the first East Coast work stoppage since 1977.

In response to this likely work stoppage, the steamship lines and LCL ocean consolidators are already announcing "Work Disruption Surcharges" and other similar congestion fees. For full containers, we are seeing surcharges as much as $1,500 per container already, and we suspect it will go higher.

Additionally, shippers should be aware that any charges caused by the labor dispute, including but not limited to, demurrage, detention, storage, chassis rentals, etc. will be passed through to you at cost, per Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) regulations. In other words, if your container is stuck in port, and the ILA union will not allow its release, the steamship line will charge you for container detention, even though it is not your fault.

Airlines have, in turn, begun to raise air freight rates significantly, in anticipation of a surge of bookings to meet holiday shipping needs. Backlogs are already developing, so potential air freight needs should be booked early.

Air & Surface Logistics will do everything it can to help you work through this challenge, should a strike materialize next week. We are able to offer inland ground transport to eastern destinations from the U.S. West Coast, as well as a variety of air freight solutions, including expedited air freight and air charter.

We will continue to update you as more news becomes available.

Paige Cotcamp, President

Air & Surface Logistics

Los Angeles, California USA

pcotcamp@airandsurface.com

+1-714-573-1207