THE DOCKWORKERS STRIKE COULD MAKE FOOD & ALCOHOL PRICES SKYROCKET

On Tuesday, nearly 50,000 port workers across the East Cost and Gulf Coast, from Maine to Texas, walked out on the job over wages, technology, and other issues.

And while you might be thinking, "How does that affect me?" it has the potential to become one of the most disruptive strikes in decades, causing shortages and price spikes, CNN reports. Hundreds of products, including bananas, European beer, wine, and liquor will no longer flow freely from U.S. ports to your local store.

"First and foremost, we can expect delays to market. And those delays depend on really what the commodities are and priorities at the ports and how quickly things move," president of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals Mark Baxa told AP News.

Why are dockworkers striking?

Dockworkers formally went on strike at midnight on Tuesday as a negotiation tactic for a new contract. The International Longshoremen's Association is demanding higher wages and a ban on automation of cranes, gates, and container-moving trucks, which are currently used to unload freights in 36 of the ports.

The previous contract between the ILA and the United States Maritime Alliance officially expired on Tuesday. Late last night progress was reportedly made on the negotiations but not enough to prevent the strike altogether.

How will the strike cause shortages?

While the severity of shortages will ultimately depend on the length of the strike, food and drink will be affected. Bananas, for example, typically pass through Port Wilmington in Delaware, while a large percentage of cherries and imported wine, beer, and hard liquor also come through ports. Cocoa and sugar will likely be impacted too, according to CNN.

Axios reports that, according to the Department of Agriculture, non-containerized items like grain will not be affected. And poultry and meat products will be stored and redirected to alternative markets to "alleviate some of the pressure."

But produce might be left to rot on ships.

So...what will happen to the produce? It might just rot on the ship.

"There's plenty of fruit on the water that’s going to be affected," John Acompora with E. Armata Fruit & Produce told Gothamist. "Everything on there is refrigerated at this point. But that only lasts so long because those refrigerator units run on fuel."

"Lemons, oranges, clementines, mostly citrus at this time of year," Acompora added. "Pineapples, bananas. Whatever comes in."

What does this mean for food prices?

A shortage doesn't just mean it's more difficult to obtain the product. It also means that the bananas, cherries, liquor, and other food and beverage products that are short in stock will be more expensive. It's simple supply and demand.

When do we start worrying?

According to experts, while we likely won't feel dramatic effects immediately, consumers may face supply shortages as soon as next week.

"If the strike does go through, it's going to have a tremendous impact on availability of some goods," said Daraius Irani, an economist at Towson University in Maryland. "Many retailers have said that for every day there's a strike, there's a three to five day recovery."

AP News added that if the strike lasts more than a month, prices will start to dramatically increase.

2024-10-01T18:22:22Z dg43tfdfdgfd