HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — As the port strike keeps ports in the East and Gulf coast shuttered, the state of Alabama braces for the impact.
The International Longshoremen Association say they want a better contract, and they want that new contract to come with items such as a ban on automation in ports.
UAH's Assoc. Professor of Management Science Laird Burns shared how this could impact the industry. "It's always about money, but it's always about automation. You want to have good, healthy organizations. There's always a balance between how much you share with the employees, how much profit goes to the organizations. But automation is in the middle of this. This is a long term structural challenge in this industry, and it's going to be facing us for years to come."
But the impact can be costly. Dr. Jason Imbrogno, Assoc. Professor of Economics at UNA, says, "Wall Street estimated this. They're saying $1 to $5 billion a day in negative economic impact."
Consumers might not see the effects right away. Burns says that in our auto industry, we export a lot of vehicles, engines, components, aerospace materials, and hopefully those sectors saw that coming and planned ahead.
Imbrogno said, "Auto dealers, though, are going to be fine for a little while. But if this strike goes on for months, you could see auto dealers again, especially here, like where we're where we are near the East Coast, near the Gulf Coast, start to have real shortages. In the first few days, we won't see anything as consumers, even as any sort of business. You're not going to notice anything. You will start to notice it within a few weeks. You'll start to see random shortages of things. You go to Wal-Mart and one of the shelves is bare and you're like, 'What's going on?' We're not able to get that thing on our store shelves anymore.
And what about the holidays? Burns is less worried about that. "I don't think the holidays are going to be as affected. We know months and sometimes years in advance what we're going to be ordering for a holiday. Certainly we have things on order that are starting to come in in August, September, October, and some of that will come in from China through the West Coast."
There's no way to determine the potential length of the strike.
Govenor Kay Ivey released a statement hours into the strike, saying the following:
"Alabamians want to work and provide for their families, but, once again, big labor is exploiting them. If the ILA was genuinely fighting for their workers, they would be at the table negotiating for them. Instead, at a time when families across the country are struggling to afford the rising cost of goods and as several Southeastern states are reeling from a devastating hurricane, the ILA is showing their true colors. They have chosen to hold hostage our economy, American consumers and its own workers they claim to support.
"And who will end up with the brunt of the cost? Hardworking Americans. No matter how this ends, we can remember no Administration has done more to inflate prices than the Biden-Harris Administration."
Items that will likely be affected by this strike include food items, car manufacturing parts, and items coming in from Europe and Africa.
However, items that are manufactured in the United States could also take a hit also. Some items that might be loaded onto a ship to be brought to another area of the country might be forced to be shipped via truck or rail.
Mark Colson, the president and CEO of the Alabama Trucking Association released a statement speaking on how the strike is impacting the trucking industry already.
"It's important for people to realize that one day of the strike equates a week's worth of disruption in the supply chain. This timing couldn't be worse, as we're experiencing a regional crisis due to the aftermath of hurricane Helene. Truckers and other first responders are on duty 24/7 and prepared to deliver relief goods to the people in need. We encourage all of the essential members of the supply chain to consider those in need during these challenging times."
Stay tuned to FOX54 for more updates on the port strike.