Costs in Iowa will rise due to a potential East Coast port strike

Cedar Rapids, Iowa – It might only be a few days away from an East Coast port strike, which would mean more money spent in Iowa on groceries and other items.

On October 1st, port workers along the East Coast are scheduled to go on strike.
For the first time since 1977, some 45,000 dock workers on the East Coast are probably going to walk out.

However, supply chain specialists in this area of Iowa claim that even in the unlikely event that the strike is avoided, the harm has already been done.

Professor of supply chain management at UNI, Dr. Andy Anderson, stated, “Apple watches, they’d usually use a port in New England to serve that market. They’ve already diverted their shipments.”

Ships currently at sea are heading toward the West Coast rather than the East Coast in preparation for a potential strike.

This implies that many ships will have to make a lengthy detour, which could greatly increase the risk of any perishables being carried.

Due to the numerous delays, Anderson stated, “What we saw in 2015 with the [West Coast] port strikes is that we saw a lot of things just rotting in their containers.”

Another problem is that ships that would typically go to the east coast will be handled by ports on the west coast, which might cause a major traffic bottleneck for ships on the east coast.

Professor of Supply Chain Management at UNI Jade Chu stated, “West Coast cannot handle the volume of all these five major East Coast ports.”

Trips to the grocery store will cost more if perishable goods are delayed.

In addition, many products that were scheduled to ship in time for holiday shopping may now experience delays due to the approaching holidays.

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

Even though he still anticipates shelves will be supplied in Iowa, expenses will increase due to delays and potential scarcity.