LOS ANGELES: Good news is that the labour strike on the west coast will not halt Christmas preparation. The goods and the cargo will reach their destination in time.
With few exceptions, gifts and other holiday products made in Asia and shipped through U.S. sea ports already have made it to shelves — or are at distribution centers and ready to roll. Still, cargo is struggling to get through the nation’s largest ports, which handle billions of dollars of goods on an average day.
One issue has been the discord between dockworkers at 29 ports from San Diego to Seattle and their employers. Their contract expired in July, and negotiations over a new one turned tough this fall after employers accused dockworkers of slowing down to gain bargaining leverage.
