Planned strike action at the ports of Felixstowe and Liverpool will overlap for seven days, making the potential for disruption “very real”.
An eight-day at Felixstowe, the UK’s busiest port, begins on 27 September, while a two-week strike at Liverpool port starts on 19 September.
A previous strike at Felixstowe in August saw delays rocket and resulted in an estimated $800m loss of trade.
Norman Global Logistics said in an update: “The potential for further disruption is very real.”
The company said the previous Felixstowe strike saw vessel calls drop from 29 to five, “with many carriers calling at alternative ports or just delaying cargo for a week to avoid disruption”.
Chris Rogers, principal supply chain economist at digital freight forwarder Flexport, told Supply Management consumer goods and firms operating just-in-time supply chains were likely to have problems.
“Clearly having Liverpool and Felixstowe strikes overlap will compound the problem, if anybody had been hoping to use one port as an alternative. It will put more pressure on London and Southampton,” he said.
“The first Felixstowe strike happened before peak shipping really got underway, but we’re now at the beginning of the season for arrivals, late September into early October. You’re much more coming into the thick of peak season so there’s the chance that that’s more disruptive.
“You’re just trying to bring more stuff into the country, but the other ports that you might choose to go to are also already busy. So you’re trying to squeeze an even bigger problem into an even smaller solution. Your options aren’t just London or Southampton, you can go to Rotterdam or Hamburg and onward ship from there – but that’s expensive, it takes time.
“Dealing with the strikes in the short term is very difficult, because generally speaking your products are already on the water, so you could divert to other ports. You could just accept that it’s going to take longer. The important thing to watch, though, is whether the disagreements that are driving the strikes get sorted out, because we’ve already had one Felixstowe strike, we’ve got another one. There’s no reason why you wouldn’t have a third. There are clearly labour relations challenges globally.”
Wait times at Felixstowe port, which handles 48% of the UK’s container cargo, increased 82% during August’s strike. Data from analytics company Russell Group suggested the last strike cost $800m in lost trade.
A spokesperson for the British International Freight Association said: “Two strikes, if they overlap, will make things more difficult but I’m sure that the shipping lines with services that are affected will be working ahead of time with their customers, including freight forwarders, to limit the impact of the strikes on the supply chains that they manage.”
Multiple shippers reported diverting ships away from Felixstowe or delaying arrival dates during the previous strike. Shipping giant Maersk said four ships had not completed their scheduled stops and would not call at Felixstowe. An additional six container carriers with Maersk had their arrival dates pushed back by 1-7 days.
The British Ports Association said: “The sector as a whole remains resilient and we have seen container ports and others handle increased trade volatility and unexpected disruption in recent years. Alternative options are available to traders and we remain confident that there will be no lasting or major impacts on supply chains as things stand. We are working with industry to monitor developments.”
Liverpool port handles an average of 700,000 20-foot equivalent units of goods per year and processed 39,000 finished vehicles last year.
Davies Turner, one of the UK’s largest independent freight forwarders still under private ownership, told customers it was “working hard to put strategies in place to help manage the situation”.
“We are in discussions with the shipping lines to assess contingency plans in order to provide the best options for shippers in an effort to mitigate the impact of this strike,” it added.
Workers at both Felixstowe and Liverpool voted for industrial action in disputes over pay. Port workers at Felixstowe rejected a 7% pay deal, which they say represented as real terms pay cut, and Liverpool employees rejected an 8.3% pay raise.
Steven Gerrard, lead officer for freeports at Unite, said: “MDHC [Mersey Docks and Harbour Company] has refused to honour the previous pay pledges it made to our members and is refusing to put forward an acceptable pay rise now. It has no one else to blame for the disruption that will be caused.”
Unite stated the previous strike action at Felixstowe had brought the port to a “standstill”.
Bobby Morton, national officer for docks at Unite, added: “The latest strike action is entirely of Felixstowe’s own making. Rather than seeking to negotiate a deal to resolve the dispute, the company instead tried to impose a pay deal. Further strike action will inevitably lead to delays and disruption to the UK’s supply chain but this is entirely of the company’s own making.”
David Huck, chief operating officer at Peel Ports Group, said: “Despite a series of meetings, we are very disappointed Unite the Union has confirmed strike action by its Port of Liverpool Containers members.
“We will continue to urge Unite the Union to keep talking with us so together we can find a resolution to avoid action that will be bad news for the sector, businesses and families, with the effects being felt for many months to come, at a time when container volume demand has started to reduce.”
