If the main theme of the shipping market in 2021 is port congestion and freight inflation, the main theme of the shipping market in 2022 is uninterrupted strike.

On Wednesday morning local time, hundreds of workers in the United States port of Auckland suddenly announced that they would strike. This will result in the suspension of three container terminals at the port.

It is understood that the reason for this strike is that the workers at the port did not get a contract to protect their interests. The contract between them and the employer Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) expired on July 1. However, after that, the negotiations were deadlocked and no agreement was reached.

The operators of Auckland Port said they were cooperating with other partners to ensure smooth international cargo transportation. They also hope that the trade union and PMA can solve this problem so that the importers and exporters of Auckland Port will not be affected.

PMA said that the workers of the trade union would take strike action in the morning of local time, and closed the entire port of Auckland without warning.

In fact, since the expiration of the contract between the union and PMA, this temporary strike has seriously affected all ports on the west coast. This not only led to a decline in freight traffic, but also led to a decline in the working hours of West Coast dock workers.

According to data, in the first half of this year, the share of ports on the west coast of the United States in U.S. imports fell to 57.5% from 61.2% in the same period last year. The share of ports on the east coast rose from 32.8% to 35.1%, and that of ports on the Gulf Coast rose from 5.7% to 7.1%.

As the West Coast port will lose cargo volume in each contract year, the trade union and PMA should try their best to reach a contract as soon as possible this year, otherwise more goods may be lost.