| The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) will resume Master Contract negotiations in New Jersey next month, following a recent three-day strike that disrupted operations at U.S. Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports.
The strike, ending on October 3, highlighted critical concerns about wages and automation. This latest round of talks aims to finalize outstanding issues after a tentative agreement extended the current Master Contract until January 15, 2025, including a provisional 62% wage increase for workers.
The Biden Administration opted for a non-interventionist approach, emphasizing collective bargaining to drive resolution, which ultimately led to the restart of negotiations.
With the Master Contract extended until just before the crucial Chinese New Year period, stakeholders are keenly watching, hopeful for an agreement that balances industry needs and fair worker treatment, averting further supply chain disruptions.
Read the joint ILA-USMX announcement here.
| August saw impressive growth for the Port of New York and New Jersey, with total volume rising nearly 20 percent compared to the previous year. In August, 790,891 TEUs (431,782 containers) moved through the port, up from 662,740 TEUs (366,339 containers) in 2023.
| A US Congressional report on port automation highlights the mixed reality of automation in American ports. While automation offers potential benefits, such as increasing efficiency in space-constrained ports, it faces significant hurdles including high costs, labor opposition, and technological limitations.
Feedback from port directors and terminal operators suggests automation is often not economically feasible, with investment recovery taking decades.
Moreover, automation's benefits are limited if other parts of the supply chain, such as transportation and warehousing, don’t improve simultaneously.
Ultimately, US ports compete more with each other than with foreign ports, and automation alone isn’t a decisive factor in shippers' decisions.
The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) remain at odds over how automation will shape future labor contracts, particularly along the East and Gulf coasts.
| Russia has intensified strikes on key Black Sea ports, significantly endangering global food security and maritime trade.
These assaults, coinciding with Ukraine's harvest season, threaten the country’s role as a major grain exporter.
Russian strikes have targeted port infrastructure and civilian grain ships, raising safety concerns in the shipping industry and driving up war risk insurance premiums.
Between October 5-14, 2024, four merchant vessels were hit by Russian munitions.
Ukraine’s alternative coastal grain corridor, crucial since the collapse of a UN-brokered deal in July 2023, has helped stabilize food prices, but is now under threat.
The conflict’s escalating toll poses serious risks not just to Ukraine but to global food and shipping systems. |
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