West Coast ports dispute reach tentative agreement, but the damage may already be done
Full operations resumed at West Coast ports Saturday evening, after the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association came to a tentative agreement on a new five-year labor contract.
The agreement came after nine months of negotiations that culminated in four days of meetings with two cabinet secretaries and ended a stalemate that that could have cost the U.S. economy $2 billion a day.
The labor standoff reduced productivity at West Coast ports by as much as half since November, leaving California citrus bound for Asia spoiling on the docks and forcing carmakers to cut production and fly in vital components at more than 10 times the cost of shipping them.
Logistics experts estimate it could take two to six months to get the U.S. supply chain back on track.
With their reputation damaged, the long-term implications for West Coast ports could be costly. With the widening of the Panama Canal and ports on the East Coast and Gulf Coast investing to attract larger ships, importers and exporters may re-think their dependence on West coast ports for the smooth flow of cargo.
