Possible East Coast port strike will increase costs in Iowa

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – An East Coast port strike could be just days away, and that could mean spending even more at the grocery store and for other goods here in Iowa.

Workers at the ports along the East Coast are set to strike October 1st.

Around 45,000 dock workers on the East Coast are likely to go on strike for the first time since 1977.

But according to supply chain experts here in Iowa, even if the strike doesn’t end up happening, the damage is already done.

“Apple watch, they’d usually use a port maybe in New England to serve that market, they’ve already diverted their shipments,” said Dr. Andy Anderson, UNI supply chain management professor.

In anticipation of a possible strike, ships on the sea right now are going to the West Coast instead of the East coast.

That means a lot of ships need to take a long detour, which could pose a big risk for any perishables being shipped.

“So what we saw in 2015 with the [West Coast] port strikes is that we saw a lot of things just rotting in their containers because there were so many delays,” Anderson said.

Another factor is that ports on the west coast will be handling ships that normally go to the east coast, which could lead to a big traffic jam for ships on the East Coast.

“West Coast cannot handle the entirety of all these five major East Coast ports, the volume,” said Jade Chu, UNI supply chain management professor.

Delays for perishable products mean trips to the grocery store will be more expensive.

Plus, with the holidays coming up, lots of goods that would be shipped in time for holiday shopping are now potentially being delayed.

“So something that’s small and high in value like an iPhone probably isn’t going to be impacted that much, but if you have something that is much larger and lower value, then you’re going to see a big impact,” Anderson said.

While he still expects shelves to be stocked here in Iowa, delays and some scarcity mean higher costs.

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