UNITED STATES - With workers at both the East and Gulf ports officially on strike following the expiration of the six-year master contract between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) on September 30, many members of our industry are looking ahead to the potential impacts. Preparing for any supply chain disruptions sparked by this strike, Costco is taking multiple steps to ready its operations for any upcoming challenges.

"We've cleared the ports, we've pre-shipped. We've done several different things that we could to get holiday goods in ahead of this time frame, and looked at alternate plans that we could execute with moving goods to different ports and coming across the country if needed," Chief Executive Officer Ron Vachris said on the club chain’s fourth-quarter earnings call.

Costco has initiated multiple contingency plans, including pre-shipping some products to ensure holiday goods arrive early and preparing to use different ports.

The strike was initiated yesterday, October 1, affecting a total of 36 ports that handle more than half of the United States ocean trade of products. According to reports from Reuters, a prolonged strike could result in shortages of staple grocery items such as bananas, coffee, and cocoa, which could translate to higher grocery prices over time. The disruption could also mean lost export sales of key agricultural products including beef, pork, chicken, and eggs.

As more companies implement strategies to overcome hurdles posed by this recent port strike, ANUK will continue to report.