On June 1st, negotiations between dockworkers, represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), and the Pacific Maritime Association, temporarily broke down, leading to a shortage of workers on site. As a result, the Port of Los Angeles experienced delays for several individual vessels over approximately one week.
In the past six days, the port has managed to minimize disruption, stated Seroka. With the intervention of U.S. Deputy Secretary of Labor Julie Su, both parties have returned to the negotiation table. Julie Su has now flown to San Francisco. “For us, 13 months is the bottom line. We hope both parties will negotiate in good faith and find a way to reach an agreement promptly,” said Seroka.
The previous labor contract between the dockworkers and the West Coast ports of the U.S. expired on July 1, 2022. Since May 10, 2022, negotiations for a new agreement have been ongoing with little progress.
Data shows that the container throughput at the Port of Los Angeles continued to decline year on year in May, but the rate of decline is slowing. The situation is similar at the Port of Long Beach. In May this year, the throughput at the Port of Los Angeles was 779,140 TEU, a decrease of about 19% compared to the same period last year, but it represents a 60% increase from the low point in February this year.
