ILA, USMX Agree to 90-Day Extension
The International Longshoremen’s Association and United States Maritime Alliance agreed to a 90-day contract extension, averting a threatened Maine-to-Texas dock strike at the end of this month.
The extension was announced by George H. Cohen, director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, after two days of negotiations aided by a federal mediator.
Cohen said the negotiations produced progress on several important subjects and the parties agreed to extend the contract through Dec. 29.
“In taking this significant step, the parties emphasized that they are doing so ‘for the good of the country’ to avoid any interruption in interstate commerce,” Cohen’s statement said.
“This extension will provide the parties an opportunity to focus on the outstanding core issues in a deliberate manner apart from the pressure of an immediate deadline,” he said.
Negotiations on the ILA-USMX master contract will be conducted during the same period as bargaining on supplementary local contracts, and will continue to be under supervision of the FMCS.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Shipping, Global Logistics, Freight Forwarders, Shippers, Maritime
Attn: Container Drayage Customers
For those of you concern for a potential strike at the pier October 1, 2012, we have an update:
As the result of ongoing negotiations aided by federal mediators, the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) has agreed to postpone a
threatened labor action along the US East and Gulf coasts for 90 days. During this 90-day period, the ILA and United States Maritime Alliance
(USMX) will continue both local and master contract negotiations. Had an agreement – temporary or permanent – not been reached, the labor
action would
have gone into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 1, and effectively halted cargo operations at ports from Maine to Texas.
Have a Great Day,
R. Reese Kimmel
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The pleasure is in the action the reflection brings to the nowhere.
Trans-Pacific Spot Rates Jump Before Possible ILA Strike
Trans-Pacific spot rates jumped 8.6 percent this week from last week as U.S. importers scrambled to find space on vessels bound for the West Coast as a precaution against a possible East Coast port strike by the International Longshoremen’s Association.
The Drewry benchmark for shipping a 40-foot-equivalent unit container from Hong Kong to Los Angeles climbed to $2,711, the highest level in four weeks and third-highest for the year.
Negotiators for the ILA and United States Maritime Alliance met Wednesday and planned to return Thursday for a second day of negotiations to try to hammer out an agreement before their contract expires Sept. 30.
“In our view, the fears of port closures on the U.S. East Coast 10 days from now are starting to trigger more shipper demand for space to the West Coast from Asia,” said Philip Damas, division director of Drewry Supply Chain Advisors.
“The rate increases could well go much higher if the situation worsens and contingency plans become more widespread,” he said.
The Drewry benchmark declined 8.6 percent during the week of Aug. 20 to $2,496 per FEU and stayed at that level in the weeks since as importers awaited progress on the ILA-USMX negotiations. As the deadline drew nears, however, demand for space increased.
This week’s benchmark rate is 73.7 percent higher than it was in the same week of 2011 and 67.5 percent higher than in the first week of this year, when it was $1,832 per FEU.
