Retailers, Manufacturers Urge White House to Mediate in West Coast Ports Labor Dispute
, but frustrations are running high after more than a year at the negotiating table."We urge the administration to mediate to ensure the parties quickly finalize a new contract without additional disruptions," said David French, senior vice president of government relations at the National Retail Federation. The industry it represents accounts for about half of the volume at the nation's container ports and is gearing up for back-to-school, Christmas and other key sales events."As we enter the peak shipping season for the holidays, these additional disruptions will force retailers
Imports Rising as Threat of West Coast Ports Shutdown Looms
;s major retail container ports is expected to rise 10.1 percent this month over the same time last year even as West Coast ports come closer to a possible shutdown due to the lack of a contract with dockworkers, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates. “With cargo volume growing as the economy continues to recover, the last thing we need is a port shutdown that would bring billions of dollars of economic activity to a halt,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said
Slow Progress in US West Coast Port Talks
Phillip Sanfield said congestion was starting to ease and that the backlog hopefully will be cleared before the next heavy cargo season in February. Insisting that labor tensions are distracting from efforts to ease the cargo crunch and could lead to a worsening situation, the National Retail Federation has urged the White House to appoint a federal mediator to help settle the talks. The union has opposed mediation, Merrilees said, because the two sides are still making headway. Getzug said management was open to the idea. (Reporting by Steve Gorman; Additional reporting
West Coast Port Slowdown Won't halt Holiday Goods
holiday merchandise safely in the country despite significant congestion impacting West Coast ports, import cargo volume at the nation’s major retail container ports is expected to continue to slow down this month, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates. “Retailers instituted costly contingency plans early on to ensure that holiday merchandise would be on the shelves or sitting in a warehouse ready to go,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. “However, we
