Consumers may soon notice that it’s harder to find products like bananas, electronics and *gasp* booze, now that dockworkers at ports from Maine to Texas are officially on strike.
As of Tuesday, 36 East and Gulf coast ports have shut down as 45,000 union workers walked off the job after labor negotiations stalled between the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX). The first ILA strike since 1977 could become one of the greatest supply chain disruptions since COVID-19, making a plethora of crucial products scarce on store shelves and upending holiday shopping for millions of Americans.
What’s more, the strike is projected to not only cost the economy up to $5 billion a day, but may prove devastating to both small and medium-sized businesses and could also boost prices for voters already frustrated with housing and food inflation, experts told USA TODAY.
“Any strike that lasts more than one week could cause goods shortages for the holidays,” Eric Clark, portfolio manager at Accuvest Global Advisors, told USA TODAY. “We could get the kind of inflation for six months similar to or worse than peak inflation levels a year ago.”
Are we hoarding toilet paper again?Amid port strike some consumers are panic-buying goods
Here’s what consumers should know about how the strike could affect their daily and holiday shopping plans:
What products should consumers stock up on?
Because about half of all U.S. ocean imports flow…
