North Texas trucking company weighs in on impact of port strike

Tuesday morning, more than 45,000 Union Longshoremen hit the picket lines at ports from Maine to Texas after contract negotiations for a pay raise and protection from automation fell flat.

Economists said the strike could cost hundreds of millions of dollars a day, and delay shipments from everything from cars, furniture, and pharmaceuticals. It could also raise the cost for businesses and consumers.

"There's a lot of people that would tell you for every one day of strike, it takes about a week to clean it up, so the impact just depends on how long it takes," said Chad Gerfers, vice president of sales and marketing for Lone Star Transportation.

The 35-year-old company is based in Fort Worth but operates across North America. While it specializes in oversized and overweight cargo, it also transports containers and shipments from ports. He said its big facilities in Houston and Savannah are going to be impacted by the strike.

“Starting a couple weeks ago we started getting phone calls from customers that were curious about their options and what they may be able to do to mitigate some of the things that are about to start happening," said Gerfers. ”For the last couple of weeks customers have been asking things like, 'Should we go to the West Coast, should we go to a non-union port,' things like that."

He said since the union ports are closed, the strike will impact logistics and finances with moving goods around.

"So you may have cargo that was destined for Houston, for example, that is now going to have to go to Long Beach, California. So instead of us loading trucks in Houston, maybe it’s in Long Beach, it’s obviously going to have a big financial impact on everybody," said Gerfers.

For the trucking industry, keeping trailers loaded is the name of the game, which is why they're keeping a close eye on a major event like this.

“A lot of these smaller goods that are being imported into the U.S. right now are things that are related to the holiday business, so you may have things that are Christmas gifts for example, that are stuck out to sea right now looking for a home," explained Gerfers.

Consumers won't likely feel the impact immediately, but if the strike lasts for days leading to weeks, people will notice, according to economists.

“The next three to five days, anything that's perishable, your meats, your fruits, your vegetables, you can see prices going up there because there's not going to be any product coming in to replace it," explained Carlos Martinez, a professor of economics at Dallas College.

"It's a serious issue. This has the potential to really impact the economy," said Martinez. "I personally don't think this is going to last more than three to four weeks. I think it's not a coincidence that they decided to strike 30 days before the election."

Contract negotiations stalled between the International Longshoreman's Association and United States Maritime Alliance, or USMX, which represents major ocean freight and port operators. The union is pressing for a pay raise and a limit on automation at ports which could eliminate jobs.

"I think businesses are counting on automation, reducing their cost and the unions don't want it to be at their expense," said Martinez. “The union is rightfully concerned that a lot of these jobs may be eliminated due to automation."

On Tuesday, President Biden urged negotiations to continue and for USMX to increase pay for workers.

Some have called for the president to use the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act to force dockworkers back to work. Biden told reporters on Sunday he didn't believe in Taft-Hartley.

“Understating whether or not the government is going to get involved in the strike and what role they may play in ending it is interesting. I think the news is going to be interesting in the next few days, see how this plays out," said Gerfers.