Impact of Port Shutdown Widens
 | West Coast Port Shutdown |
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Representatives of the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union said they were planning to hold meetings with a federal mediator for a second straight day, but did not say whether any progress had been made, Bloomberg reported.
Another trade group, the Consumer Electronic Association, joined in calls to the Bush administration to intervene in the dispute. The CEA said that the high-tech industry, which has major production centers in Asia and on the West Coast, is one of the hardest hit industries by the shutdown.
Among other groups calling for the administration to step in have been the American Trucking Associations and the National Retail Federation.
Asian exporters, which send billions of dollars in goods to the United States are already feeling the pinch, some observers say, and many may be forced into bankruptcy and that could push the Asian economy into recession.
Andy Xie, an economist with Morgan Stanley, told Bloomberg if the shutdown lasts longer than a month, then East Asia will be in a recession. Xie described the potential consequences to the world economy as “horrendous.”
In the United States, the Associated Press reported that many West Coast owner-operators are having to dip into their savings and could soon be out of cash if the port closure doesn’t end soon.
Also, the Association of American Railroads has ordered an embargo on marine cargo container traffic to California, Oregon and Washington port terminals.
The step is being taken, according to the AAR, to alleviate congestion and disruptions on the West Coast while the ports are still closed.
“While this step will help us ensure that the entire network remains fluid, we hope this dispute can be resolved soon,” AAR President Edward R. Hamberger said.
The ports have been closed since Sunday, at a cost of nearly $1 billion a day by some estimates.
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