With a tentative deal reached in February already showing signs of fraying, shippers and retailers alike are given great cause for concern over whether West Coast ports will still be a reliable channel for their goods. With ports on the East Coast showing great promise and the Panama Canal being widened, it would be in the West Coast ports' best interests to make a deal and stick to it.

1. D E S P I T E T E N TAT I V E D E A L , W E S T
C O A S T P O R T S S T I L L U N C E R TA I N
E R I C G E R S T E R
M A R C H 2 0 1 5

2. After almost ten months of negotiations that
resulted in a standoff between the Pacific Maritime
Association (PMA) and International Longshore
and Warehouse Union (ILWU), the two parties
reached a tentative agreement to get twenty-nine
ports on the West Coast back up and running.

3. With a dispute affecting the supply chains of
thousands of businesses, the shutdown after
months of maneuvering from both sides was
alarming enough to have President Obama
dispatch U.S. Secretary of Labor Tom Perez and
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
Deputy Director Scot Beckenbaugh.

4. W H AT WA S T H E C O S T ?
An estimated $7 billion was lost by retailers in elevated
carrying costs and lost sales, according to an article on
TruckingInfo.com, and it will take an estimated three
months to return to normal activity.

5. While retailers across the country who rely on
trade with Asian nations are relieved, there is
still looming anxiety. In addition to the fact that
the agreement is only supposed to last for five
years, it is a tentative deal and won’t be voted
on by members of the ILWU until April. If the
tentative agreement is voted down by union
members, the two parties might find themselves
a little further back than Square One.

6. What’s more is that the tentative agreement is already
showing signs of fraying. According to the Journal of
Commerce, the largest marine terminal at the Port of
Oakland is experiencing a shutdown due to manning
requirements dictated in the new agreement.

7. Again, each side is pointing fingers at the other,
with the PMA accusing the ILWU of instigating more
slowdowns and stoppages since the tentative
agreement was reached on February 20th.

8. The last labor dispute between the two sides was in
2002, and because of lingering mistrust and lack of a
clear future stability, many are looking towards the East
and Gulf Coasts and the widened Panama Canal for an
alternative to the contentious relations at West Coast
ports.
inboundlogistics.com

9. As the shipping industry enters into "slow season",
decreased supply and uncertainty are looming
large.