Docked cargo ships are loaded with shipping containers at Port Elizabeth, New Jersey, US. (Reuters Photo)

By Lisa Baertlein

LOS ANGELES- A threatened Oct. 1 strike by dockworkers at ports on the US East Coast and Gulf of Mexico would immediately disrupt the flow of goods in the country, the North America chief executive of French container carrier CMA CGM said on Wednesday.

The International Longshoremen’s Association union represents 45,000 workers at 36 ports including New York/New Jersey, Houston and Savannah, Georgia. The union has vowed to stop work if it does not have a new labor agreement in place when the current six-year contract expires on Sept. 30 at midnight.

“The moment you close the door, things begin to back up,” George Goldman, CMA CGM’s North America chief, said on a webcast hosted by the Port of Los Angeles.

“One day is too long” for port closures, he said.

CMA CGM is a member of the United States Maritime Alliance employer group that is negotiating with the ILA.

The ports that stand to be affected handle about half of US imports. Worried retailers, manufacturers and other ocean shippers have been shifting some cargo to the West Coast to cut the chance of having cargo stuck at idled facilities.

Analysts at Sea-Intelligence, a Copenhagen-based shipping advisory firm, estimate it could take anywhere from four to six days to clear the backlog from a one-day strike. – Reuters