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U.S. retailer Costco Wholesale COST.O is taking a host of steps to prepare for possible strikes next week at U.S. ports on the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico, the company’s chief executive said Thursday.
Contingency plans in place include pre-shipping some products to get holiday goods out sooner and prepare to use different ports, Costco CEO Ron Vachris said at the conference. call on the company’s fourth quarter results.
Businesses that rely on shipping are increasingly worried: The 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association will strike Oct. 1 and close 36 ports that handle more than half of U.S. maritime trade in products such as bananas , meat, prescription drugs, auto parts, building materials and clothing.
If that happens, delays and costs could quickly trickle down, threatening the U.S. economy in the weeks leading up to the presidential election, straining already taxed global shipping networks and imposing higher prices on consumers as the time.
“We cleared customs from ports, we pre-shipped goods. We did everything in our power to get holiday goods out ahead of schedule, and we looked at other plans than we could implement to transport the goods to different ports and cross the country if necessary,” Mr Vachris said.
Asked about moving goods ahead of time, he said: “We’ve done a little bit of everything you talked about,” before adding: “It might be disruptive, but I can’t tell you to what extent. .. until we know what could happen there”
A prolonged strike could lead to shortages of familiar products such as bananas, coffee and cocoa, which could ultimately result in higher grocery prices.
It could also result in a loss of export sales of key agricultural products, such as beef, pork, chicken and eggs.
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