Strike closes US ports

Gantry cranes went silent from New England to Texas on Oct. 1 when the International Longshoremen’s Association—the union representing dockworkers on the US East and Gulf Coasts—walked out on strike for higher pay and to slow automation at ports. The strike threatens a repeat of the supply chain disruptions that choked the US economy 2 years ago and may hamper the chemical industry, which depends on trade for access to end markets and raw materials. The Conference Board, an economic think tank, says the strike halted activity at 36 ports that handle 57% of US shipping container volume and a quarter—roughly $3 trillion per year—of US trade. It estimates that the strike will cost the US economy $540 million per day. “A port strike would paralyze US trade and raise prices at a time when consumers and businesses are starting to feel relief from inflation,” Erin McLaughlin, the Conference Board’s