A Journal of Commerce survey found that cargo owners are flustered by the eight-day office clerical workers strike last month in Los Angeles-Long Beach, and the possibility of an East and Gulf Coast dockworker strike three weeks from now, but cargo diversion is not an option for many shippers.
Of the 128 importers and exporters surveyed, 39 percent said they will ship less cargo through the Southern California gateway in the future because of the strike by the Office Clerical Unit of International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 63 from Nov. 27 to Dec. 4.
A total of 61 percent of the respondents said the OCU strike would not affect how much cargo they ship through Southern California in the future, and 63 percent of the shippers said they would not route their cargo through Canada or Mexico, or increase their use of ports there if they are already using those gateways.
