“The Biggest Wild Card in the Presidential Election”: Just Days Left Until a Crippling Port Strike Paralyzes the East Coast
22nd September 2024
As Rabobank’s Michael Every adds, “US businesses could miss the key Black Friday/Cyber Monday peak sales period. Port trade is around $2.12trn, and 72% would grind to a halt, a one-day strike reportedly taking six days to recover from, a one-week strike in October creating bottlenecks until mid-November, not factoring in Red Sea disruptions caused by the not-terrorist Houthis.”
If goods are then forced to shift to the US West Coast ports, Rabobank speculates that Asia-US freight rates could leap to $20,000, far above the peak seen in the last supply-chain crisis. That would mean firms with low margins might opt not to import at all, creating empty shelves.
A strike called by–wait for it–labor unions, the Democrat base.
Democrats don’t care how many people get hurt, so long as it profits them.
“There is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, any time.” — Calvin Coolidge