Longshoremen reach tentative agreement with ports, shippers, averting a potential strike
U.S. longshoremen reached a contract agreement with ports and shippers Wednesday, averting a potential strike that could have damaged the American economy.
The International Longshoremen’s Association union and the U.S. Maritime Alliance of ports and shipping companies said they had reached a tentative agreement for a six-year contract, a week ahead of a Jan. 15 deadline.
In a joint statement, the two sides said the agreement protects union jobs and allows ports on the East and Gulf coasts to modernize with new technology, “making them safer and more efficient, and creating the capacity they need to keep our supply chains strong.’'
They said they were not releasing details of the agreement publicly to give union members a chance to review and approve the document. The ratification process is likely to take weeks.
In a statement Wednesday night, President Joe Biden said the tentative agreement “shows that labor and management can come together to benefit workers and their employers.”
“I applaud the dockworkers’ union for delivering a strong contract,” Biden added. “Their members kept our ports open during the pandemic, as we worked together to unsnarl global supply chains. Thank you to the carriers and port operators who play an essential role in our nation’s economy.”
The 45,000 longshoremen staged a three-day strike in October. They suspended the walkout after agreeing to a 62% pay increase over six years that would have sent hourly wages at the top of the pay scale from $39 to $63. But that truce was contingent upon reaching an agreement by Jan. 15 over automation: The union worried that machines — especially semi-automated cranes — would replace human workers.
According to a source familiar with the talks who requested anonymity because the details had not been made public, the agreement would give the ports more leeway to introduce modernizing technology. But in a concession to the union, they would have to hire new workers when they do, and full automation is off the table.
Wednesday’s agreement came a day after the two sides resumed negotiations. “This is a win-win agreement that creates ILA jobs, supports American consumers and businesses, and keeps the American economy the key hub of the global marketplace,” they said in the statement.
A strike would have shut down ports along the East and Gulf coasts and would have begun damaging the economy if it lasted much more than a week, economists said.
Automation has long been a contentious issue at U.S. ports. Longshoremen worry that machines — such as semi-automated cranes that don’t need their own individual operators — will supplant human workers. Even if the ports agree to protect existing jobs as they modernize, they could need fewer workers as they get more efficient, meaning the port workforce and the union could shrink over time.
Port operators and shipping companies argue that U.S. ports are falling behind more automated ports such as those in Rotterdam, Dubai and Singapore.
President-elect Donald Trump had weighed in for the union.
After meeting union president Harold Daggett at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump posted on social media last month that additional automation of ports would hurt workers: “The amount of money saved is nowhere near the distress, hurt and harm it causes for American workers, in this case, our Longshoremen.’’ Trump added that he knows “just about everything there is to know about’’ automation.
Dockworkers and port operators strike labor deal, again dodging strike
East and Gulf Coast port operators late Wednesday struck an agreement with a dockworkers union, resolving a labor dispute that had threatened to halt shipments for a second time in three months.
The two sides — the International Longshoremen's Association and the United States Maritime Alliance — announced in a joint statement Wednesday evening that they had reached a tentative deal on a new six-year contract that averts a strike that would have started Jan. 15.
"This agreement protects current ILA jobs and establishes a framework for implementing technologies that will create more jobs while modernizing East and Gulf coasts ports – making them safer and more efficient, and creating the capacity they need to keep our supply chains strong," the two parties said in their statement.
Terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed.
President Biden praised the agreement, saying in a statement Wednesday night that it "shows that labor and management can come together to benefit workers and their employers."
It comes after members of the ILA had ended a three-day walkout in October after reaching a tentative deal with the USMX that initially suspended the strike until Jan. 15. While resolving issues over pay, job security issues remained, with the union looking for guarantees that ports wouldn't use technology to replace workers.
The ILA argued against using more automation at the ports, saying the USMX was looking to cut their labor costs and boost profits.
For their part, port operators and shipping companies argued that the U.S. is falling behind automated ports like those in Dubai, Rotterdam and Singapore.
The stakes were high for the U.S. economy. Ports on the East and Gulf coasts handle more than half the nation's traffic in shipping containers, the steel boxes at the center of world trade, which carry everything from smartphones to fresh fruit to automobiles.
Under the existing contract with the Maritime Alliance, the highest-paid dockworkers making $39 an hour, or $81,000 a year. The top hourly wage would rise to more than $60 an hour under the deal tentatively struck in October.
A 2019-2020 report by the Waterfront Commission, which oversees New York Harbor, found that a third of the longshoremen based there made $200,000 or more annually including overtime pay. That didn't include workers' share of royalties on the cargo that moves through the ports, payments that can come to thousands of dollars a year.
The 10 largest U.S. ports all use some kind of automation technology to move cargo, according to a 2024 Government Accountability Office report. These include automated gates, which let trucks and containers move through cargo terminals with limited worker interaction; so-called port community systems, which are digital platforms that automatically streamline logistics and supply-chain data; and technologies used in "internet-of-things" systems, such as RFID, GPS and cameras, to operate equipment and track containers.
Only three domestic ports — Long Beach Container Terminal in Long Beach, Calif., and TraPac and APM Terminal Pier 400 in Los Angeles — are fully automated. At fully automated ports, both horizontal and vertical container movement is handled by machines. Other technologies put to use at automated ports include AI-powered sensors, so-called digital twins — or identical, digital replicas of ports — and blockchain to automate the recording of transactions and track container locations.
In 2023, the Center for Innovation in Transport in Barcelona, Spain, found "no clear evidence confirming that automated terminals outperform conventional ones," though the research firm conceded that technological advances could change things in the future.
Another potential port strike is looming. Here's what to know about the January talks.
Another possible U.S. port strike is looming later this month, which may seem like deja vu given it's only been three months since a work stoppage stemming from a labor dispute closed every major East and Gulf Coast port in October.
While that strike ended after three days with a tentative deal between the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) that addressed some key issues, the sides face a January 15 deadline to resolve other concerns.
With the union and USMX resuming negotiations on Tuesday, January 7, the specter of another port shutdown is heightening concerns among economists, businesses and policy experts. To be sure, the dockworkers and port operators could reach an agreement ahead of the deadline, which occurs just days before President-elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated for his second term.
But if the union and the USMX are unable to reach a deal, more than 20,000 dockworkers could go on strike in mid-January, halting activities at ports from New York to Houston and potentially reducing the nation's economic activity by as much as $7.5 billion each week.
"[A] failure to reach an agreement and an extended strike similar to the one seen in West Coast ports in 2002 would begin to have a material financial effect on East and Gulf Coast ports," David Kamran, assistant vice president at Moody's Ratings, said Monday in an analysis of the simmering labor battle. "An extended strike would not only have an adverse effect on ports but could also impact the retail sector and shipping companies."
Here's what to know about the ongoing negotiations.
Sort of. The ILA and the shipping industry, represented by the USMX, reached a tentative agreement on October 4, three days after the dockworkers went on strike. But that agreement simply delayed some parts of labor negotiations needed to reach a new contract.
In some ways, the tentative contract reached in October is a boon for workers at East and Gulf Coast ports. The deal provides port workers with a 61.5% wage increase over the next six years, although that is lower than the 77% increase the union had originally sought. The negotiated increase will result in the union's highest paid workers earning $63 per hour in the final year of the contract, up from $39.
But the agreement effectively kicked the can on other vital issues for dockworkers, especially related to job security.
The key issue is the use of use of automation at ports, with dockworkers seeking to guarantee job security amid fears that technology could lead to their roles being eliminated.
The 10 largest U.S. ports all use some kind of automation technology to move cargo, according to a 2024 Government Accountability Office report. These include automated gates, which let trucks and containers move through cargo terminals with limited worker interaction; so-called port community systems, which are digital platforms that automatically streamline logistics and supply-chain data; and technologies used in "internet-of-things" systems, such as RFID, GPS and cameras, to operate equipment and track containers.
Semi-automated terminals employ people to operate machinery that moves containers from the cargo berth — the area where a ship is moored — to the yard. Equipment used to stack containers on top of one another is fully automated.
But only three domestic ports — Long Beach Container Terminal in Long Beach, Calif., and TraPac and APM Terminal Pier 400 in Los Angeles — are fully automated. At fully automated ports, both horizontal and vertical container movement is handled by machines. Other technologies put to use at automated ports include AI-powered sensors, so-called digital twins — or identical, digital replicas of ports — and blockchain to automate the recording of transactions and track container locations.
"With unresolved issues around automation and job security, the outcome of these talks could significantly impact global supply chains. Earlier agreements delayed disruptions, but pressure is mounting for a lasting resolution," noted John Donigian, senior director of supply chain strategy at Moody's, in a Monday email.
A wild card in the situation is the incoming presidential administration, given that Trump will be inaugurated on Jan. 20, just five days after the deadline for reaching a new labor contract.
In December, Trump wrote on his social media app, Truth Social, that he had met with ILA President Harold Daggett and executive VP Dennis Daggett about automation and the impact on dockworkers, with the president-elect voicing support for the union.
"I've studied automation, and know just about everything there is to know about it," Trump wrote. "The amount of money saved is nowhere near the distress, hurt and harm it causes for American Workers, in this case, our Longshoremen."
Still, Trump could face a major port strike just as he takes office, spurring him to intervene. He could also invoke the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, a law that would force dockworkers back to their jobs as part of an 80-day cooling off period, although such an action could risk angering workers and some of Trump's supporters.
A port strike could begin on January, 16, shipping company Maersk is warning its customers.
"The conditional agreement on wages is set to expire on January 15. If no agreement is reached by that date, a coast-wide strike on January 16 is possible. However, the negotiations have had no new developments since our last communication," Maersk wrote in an advisory posted on its website on Dec. 30.
The October strike had negligible economic impact because it ended after three days. By contrast, a longer strike could crimp U.S. economic activity by halting shipping at major ports along the East and Gulf Coasts.
For every week a strike continues, it could reduce U.S. economic activity by between $4.5 billion and $7.5 billion, analysts at Oxford Economics said in October. Retailers would face delays in receiving goods, while shipping costs would likely rise due to the need to reroute deliveries to West Coast ports that aren't part of the negotiations.
"[A] longer strike could hurt retail profitability as there would be delay in future deliveries, with seasonal and fashion goods arriving past their peak selling period, resulting in lower sales and an increase in markdowns to clear these goods," noted Christina Boni, Moody's Ratings senior vice president of corporate finance, in an email.
She added, "Smaller companies with less sophisticated supply chains and planning capabilities to pivot quickly would be most at risk."
Still, retailers, manufacturers and other companies have had months to prepare, allowing them to stockpile inventory and rejigger their supply chains to cushion the blow from a modest ports shutdown.
Union dockworkers, port employers announce tentative deal at East Coast and Gulf ports
After a contentious negotiation, the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) on Wednesday announced a tentative deal on a new six-year master contract.
The deadline to reach an agreement was Jan. 15.
According to the ILA, full wage scale meetings will be called to review the deal followed by a ratification vote. No date was given on the full wage scale meeting. Details on when the USMX membership would vote were not available at press time.
The tentative agreement is on all items for a new six-year master contract. The two sides agreed to continue to operate under the current contract until both sides schedule a ratification vote.
"We are pleased to announce that ILA and USMX have reached a tentative agreement on a new six-year ILA-USMX Master Contract, subject to ratification, thus averting any work stoppage on January 15, 2025," the two sides said in a joint statement. "This agreement protects current ILA jobs and establishes a framework for implementing technologies that will create more jobs while modernizing East and Gulf coasts ports – making them safer and more efficient, and creating the capacity they need to keep our supply chains strong.
"This is a win-win agreement that creates ILA jobs, supports American consumers and businesses, and keeps the American economy the key hub of the global marketplace."
CNBC was told details of the new tentative agreement would not be released to allow both the ILA rank-and-file-members and USMX members to review and approve the final document.
Sources familiar with the contract told CNBC the compromise on automation and semi-automation was key to the tentative agreement. According to the sources, full automation was off the table but essentially USMX has the ability to implement the technology its members feel would modernize the ports. The ILA has the guarantee of specific jobs that would be associated to specific equipment being added, the sources said.
Technology additions and labor have been reviewed and negotiated by the technology committee process used by the union and ports. The committee consists of co-chairmen and five additional members from each side. ILA President Harold Daggett, along with his two sons, Dennis and John, are on the committee.
This process will continue in future technology additions.
In a separate release, Daggett credited President-elect Donald Trump's support as "key" to securing the tentative contract. Daggett said Trump had called USMX officials in mid-December "to express his support for the ILA" on the same day he had met with the president-elect. He called Trump a "hero."
Stephen Lamar, CEO of the American Apparel and Footwear Association, said the association was grateful both sides were able to find common ground and reach a deal.
"With 53% of our fashion imported through these gateways, such news is a welcome relief and helps provide certainty to our industry and the communities and consumers they serve," Lamar said.
Second US port strike averted as union, employers reach deal
Jan 8 (Reuters) - The union representing 45,000 dock workers on the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts and their employers on Wednesday said they reached a tentative deal on a new six-year contract, averting further strikes that could have snarled supply chains and taken a toll on the U.S. economy.
The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) employer group, in a joint statement, called the agreement a "win-win." The deal includes a resolution in automation, which had been the thorniest issue of on the table.
"This agreement protects current ILA jobs and establishes a framework for implementing technologies that will create more jobs while modernizing East and Gulf coast ports – making them safer and more efficient, and creating the capacity they need to keep our supply chains strong," the groups said.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. ILA and USMX have agreed to continue operating under the current contract until the contract is ratified.
The talks had been extended until Jan. 15 to hammer a deal on automation. Shipping industry executives, customers and analysts had been concerned that the parties would be unable to overcome their impasse, leading to a second ILA strike just days before President-elect Donald Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration.
A three-day ILA strike in October had triggered a surge in shipping prices and cargo backlogs at the 36 affected ports. Longshoremen returned to work after employers agreed to a 62% wage increase over the next six years.
Employers at the ports stretching from Maine to Texas include terminal operators like APM, owned by Danish container carrier Maersk (MAERSKb.CO) , opens new tab, as well as the U.S. arms of other major carriers like China's COSCO Shipping (601919.SS) , opens new tab and Switzerland's MSC.
The National Retail Federation, which represents major customers like Walmart (WMT.N) , opens new tab and Target (TGT.N) , opens new tab, said the agreement should bring certainty back to ocean shipping by reducing the risk of disruptions at East and Gulf Coast ports that handle more than half of U.S. container imports.
"The agreement will also pave the way for much-needed modernization efforts, which are essential for future growth at these ports and the overall resiliency of our nation's supply chain," said Jonathan Gold, NRF's vice president of supply chain and customs policy.
Potentially crippling port strike averted after dockworkers, ports and shipping companies reach a tentative deal
A potentially crippling strike up and down America’s East and Gulf Coasts has been avoided – at least for now – after longshoremen and the shipping and port companies reached a tentative deal on a new contract Wednesday.
The United States Maritime Alliance, the group representing ship lines and port and terminal operators, which uses the acronym USMX, and the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), a union which represents 50,000 members who fill 25,000 jobs spread between three dozen locations at 14 port authorities from Maine to Texas, jointly announced that they agreed on a six year deal Wednesday. The deal is not complete until it is ratified by the union’s membership.
Without a deal, the port workers were set to go on strike on the morning of January 16.
“We are pleased to announce that ILA and USMX have reached a tentative agreement,” the two sides said in a joint statement. “This agreement protects current ILA jobs and establishes a framework for implementing technologies that will create more jobs while modernizing East and Gulf coast ports – making them safer and more efficient, and creating the capacity they need to keep our supply chains strong.”
“This is a win-win agreement that creates ILA jobs, supports American consumers and businesses, and keeps the American economy the key hub of the global marketplace, the two sides added.”
The ILA and USMX reached a deal in October on wages, which increased hourly pay by 10% in the first year and 62% over the six-year tentative deal. That ended a three-day strike. Workers returned to work and negotiators were sent back to the table to work out the rest of the contract. Negotiators met on Tuesday for the first time since mid-November.
Wednesday’s deal is agreement on all other items including automation, which was a key issue for the union who believed jobs would be lost.
The sides did not publicly disclose the details of the agreement. But a source familiar with the negotiations said that as the final details of the contract were being worked out this week, there was a compromise reached on technology at the ports, Automation was the key sticking point for the union over concerns they would lose jobs.
Fully automated technology is still out of the contract, but it does allow for semi-automation. USMX can implement new technology like cranes that can perform some tasks without human involvement. However, the contract gives the ILA guaranteed jobs directly associated with any new technology, the source said.
Management had argued ports need to introduce technology to improve productivity – not to eliminate union jobs. But the union said it was not convinced its members would go unhurt by new technology.
President Joe Biden had refused calls by many of the nation’s business groups to intervene and order the ILA members back to work during the October strike.
It’s not clear that President-elect Donald Trump would have taken the side of USMX and order the ILA back to work if a new strike started and spilled over into his tenure. After meeting with ILA President Harold Daggett in December, Trump came out firmly in favor of the ILA position on the issue of automation at the ports, writing on his Truth Social platform that the foreign-owned ship lines that dominate the USMX “have made a fortune in the US by giving them access to our markets…. I’d rather these foreign companies spend it on the great men and women on our docks, than machinery, which is expensive, and which will constantly have to be replaced.”
This story has been updated with additional context.
CNN’s Chris Isidore contributed to this report.
Talks to avert another potentially crippling port strike set to resume
Negotiations aimed at heading off a new strike at the ports up and down America’s East and Gulf Coasts are set to resume Tuesday.
The talks are between the United States Maritime Alliance, the group representing ship lines and port and terminal operators which uses the acronym USMX, and the International Longshoremen’s Association, a union which represents 50,000 members who fill 25,000 jobs spread between three dozen locations at 14 port authorities from Maine to Texas.
In October ILA members went on strike, stopping the flow of much of the cargo and containers over those docks. Those ports handle more than half of US inbound container traffic, and the strike threatened to create shortages of all manner of imports needed by US businesses and consumers, as well as hurt US exports. The strike ended after only three days though, when a tentative agreement sent workers back to the docks.
That agreement covered only wages, which increased hourly pay by 10% in the first year and 62% over the six-year tentative deal. But it was silent on the issue of automation at the ports, a key issue in the strike. The members agreed only to go back to work through January 15, meaning a new strike could start on January 16 without a new contract or another contract extension.
Neither the ILA nor USMX are commenting on where things now stand in negotiations, but the two sides have not met in person since mid-November. The key issue now being discussed involves the use of automation at the ports. Management argues it needs to introduce technology to improve productivity, not to eliminate union jobs, but the union is not convinced its members won’t be hurt by new technology.
President Joe Biden had refused calls by many of the nation’s business groups to intervene and order the ILA members back to work during the October strike.
It seems as if President-elect Donald Trump would also refuse to take the side of USMX and order the ILA back to work if a new strike starts and spills over into his tenure. After meeting with ILA President Harold Daggett in December, Trump came out firmly in favor of the ILA position on the issue of automation at the ports, writing on his Truth Social platform that the foreign-owned ship lines that dominate the USMX “have made a fortune in the US by giving them access to our markets…. I’d rather these foreign companies spend it on the great men and women on our docks, than machinery, which is expensive, and which will constantly have to be replaced.”
ILA union and port owners held secret meeting on automation as new strike looms
A secret meeting between key members of the International Longshoremen's Association and the United States Maritime Alliance was held on Sunday in an effort to help the dockworkers' union and ports ownership find common ground on the heated issue of automation and semi-automation. A document produced out of the meeting indicates a focus on the creation of new human jobs to complement any new port technology.
CNBC has learned that the eight-hour meeting took place ahead of the highly anticipated resumption of formal bargaining, and with a January 15 deadline to avoid a new strike by dockworkers. According to sources close to the talks who were granted anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the negotiations — talks had recently broken down over the issue — language on automation was drawn up to assist the full bargaining committee review process slated for Tuesday.
But the sources added that the language could lead to new concerns about added labor costs, and new risks to getting a comprehensive deal on wages and automation completed.
The meeting included individuals from port terminals where the technology at issue is already used, including rail-mounted gantry (RMG) cranes at container terminals in Bayonne, New Jersey, part of the Port of New York and New Jersey, and the NIT Terminal, part of the Port of Virginia. Among executives at the meeting were Paul Demaria, CEO of USMX; Kevin Price, president of Gateway Terminals; Joe Ruddy, chief operations officer of the Port of Virginia; John Atkins, president of GCT USA; and Anthony Ray, executive vice president of operations at Maher Terminals. Representing the union were ILA president Harold Daggett and his son Dennis, who is executive vice president of the ILA, and Virgil Moldonado, president of the NY/NJ chapter of the ILA 1588.
According to a document reviewed by CNBC, the agreement states that the ILA reserves the right to add union workers in the future to complement any new technologies and "there is a commitment by the parties to research and utilize all technology that would assist an operator in being more efficient and productive."
The document specifies that skilled human crane operators have proven their ability to work with the aid of modern crane control systems to handle port tasks where precision is required. The crane technology includes cameras and alignment guides, anti-sway technology for precise container placement, and motion-dampening controls.
The document refers to semi-automated rail-mounted gantry crane operations "where humans control complex tasks while automation handles repetitive motions."
It also cites manual RMG operations in which union workers operate the cranes manually without automation. Loading positioning sensors, obstacle detection systems, and real-time feedback systems were also cited as tools that "enable human operators to achieve precision comparable to automation."
Even with the proposed language on automation suggesting that the USMX is willing to give in to some union concerns over jobs, port sources say critical details still need to be worked out.
Sources within the USMX are concerned about new labor costs that do not accurately reflect port needs and economics, and which will ultimately ripple through the supply chain and reach the consumer.
"The rub is, what are deemed as necessary jobs?" said a terminal operator. "Is the job truly necessary or is it a job being created for the sake of adding a worker?"
"These extra jobs are paid by increasing the price of services paid by the shipper," the terminal operator said. "These costs are then passed onto the consumer by the shipper. It's the definition of inflation."
The ILA declined to comment on the meeting.
It remains unclear if the full USMX bargaining team will agree to document language on automation or risk another strike.
"We are at an inflection point," said a member of the USMX. "If either side cannot come to an agreement and there is a strike, it is a roll of the dice for either side to see if a better agreement could be carved out if there was government intervention."
President-elect Donald Trump recently voiced strong support for the union position on automation.
The USMX member said that if the proposed terms on automation, requiring any new port technology to be matched by new jobs, are accepted by the full USMX, then the tentative 62% wage increase that the USMX agreed to in October to end the first strike "should be off the table."
"Keeping automation at status quo arguably eliminates the ability to pay for the increase," the USMX member said. "So this is part of the internal discussion and will be part of the carriers' consideration on whether to accept the deal discussed yesterday."
The working document states that if a mutual agreement cannot be reached on the use of what is defined as "Operator Assisted Technology," the subject would be referred to what is known as a technology committee process used by the union and ports — which consists of a co-chairmen and five additional members from each side, as well as Harold Daggett, along with his two sons, Dennis and John. That is the final step before arbitration, if necessary.
While the personnel additions tied to new technology would be subject to local union chapter bargaining, the final approval would come from the ILA's national office.
"All of these decisions are controlled by the Daggett's in the end," said the terminal operator. "This contract continues to increase Daggett's leverage in the union by deciding how many people get hired and which one of those lucky enough to be hired gets the biggest paycheck."
International Longshoremen's Association suspends ports strike until January
The union representing tens of thousands of dockworkers across the US has agreed to suspend its strike while negotiations continue.
Members of the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) walked out on Tuesday at 14 major ports along the east and Gulf coasts, halting container traffic from Maine to Texas.
The union says it has reached a tentative agreement on wages and will go back to work on Friday until 15 January, when they will return to the bargaining table to negotiate "all other outstanding issues".
The action marked the first such shutdown in almost 50 years and threatened to wreak chaos amid the busy holiday shopping season and forthcoming presidential election.
"Effective immediately, all current job actions will cease and all work covered by the Master Contract will resume," said a joint statement by the ILA and the employers' group - United States Maritime Alliance (USMX).
Under the tentative agreement, wages would go up by 62% over the next six years, BBC News understands.
But negotiations will continue over a number of outstanding issues, including automation.
The union had been calling for a 77% wage hike, while USMX had previously increased its pay rise offer to almost 50%.
The BBC has contacted the ILA and USMX for comment.
“The short ILA strike... will surely be ranked as one of the most lucrative 3 days in labour-management history," said Patrick L Anderson, CEO of business consultancy Anderson Economic Group.
"The ILA workers have apparently gained 60% wage increases after giving up 3 days of work in a strike that inflicted no serious damage on the US economy."
German shipping group Hapag-Lloyd told Reuters on Friday that it could take three to four weeks to make up for the strike-related vessel backlog in US ports.
The strike started on Tuesday after negotiations failed to produce a new six-year contract.
The walkout was the ILA's first major stoppage since 1977.
The affected ports included some of the nation's busiest, including in New York, Georgia and Texas. They are estimated by experts to handle more than a third of US imports and exports.
US President Joe Biden applauded the tentative agreement in a statement on Thursday evening, saying it "represents critical progress toward a strong contract".
"I congratulate the dockworkers from the ILA, who deserve a strong contract after sacrificing so much to keep our ports open during the pandemic," Biden said.
"And I applaud the port operators and carriers who are members of the US Maritime Alliance for working hard and putting a strong offer on the table."
Biden noted the need for ports to be open to "ensure the availability of critical supplies" for those hit by Hurricane Helene, which has left more than 200 people dead in the US south-east.
The news that the stoppage had been suspended was also welcomed by business owners.
“The decision to end the current strike and allow the East and Gulf coast ports to reopen is good news for the nation’s economy," said Matthew Shay, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation in a statement.
Businesses had been bracing for the possibility of a prolonged shutdown, which threatened to disrupt global trade and the US economy.
Some firms had been building up supplies as warnings of the strike circulated over the summer.
Many consumers had also been fearful and were stocking up on some supplies, like baby formula and toilet paper.
Under the 2018 contract that expired on Monday, dockworkers earned a base hourly wage of $20-$39, as well as other benefits, including royalties linked to container traffic.
Harold Daggett, head of the ILA, demanded companies agree to boost hourly pay by $5 for each year of the contract.
The union, which has about 47,000 active members according to federal filings, is also seeking protections against automation.
