President Obama Ponders the Port Slowdown situation on the West Coast…

The sun sets on an idle West Coast Port

Many people in the International Trade community have been left wondering why Obama has been silent on the port slowdown issue – it can be commonly heard “what is Obama waiting for? He needs to act, not just for us, but for the betterment of the U.S. economy.”

Retailers are watching their profits go up in smoke as the port congestion continues on with no end in sight. The port slow down is costing shippers, carriers, companies and consumers alike millions of dollars. Large Retailers and Shippers have been lobbying both congress and the president to do something about the port slow down problem, but their frustrations have largely fallen upon deaf ears.

It has been suggested that the port slowdown situation has not had enough of an impact on the economy / has not disrupted the holiday season significantly enough to put pressure on obama to act. Shippers and retailers estimate the port slow down situation is costing them more than $1 billion a day – from idle vessels & trucks, longshoremen overtime pay, they claim it is all adding up and the companies are bleeding red ink and languishing while obama sits back and does nothing.

Political commentators suggest president Obama could personally request labor allies at ILWU to accept negotiations and end the slowdown but the facts of the situation are that Obama relied heavily upon Union support to secure his presidency twice in a row.

The president is largely seen as sympathetic towards unions, and not eager to intervene as the Democratic Party heavily relies upon Union support and money every election cycle, and an intervention by Obama would be seen as hurting future relations between the Democratic Party & the Unions – a proverbial “Poisoning of the Well”

American media outlets have been hammering away at the port slow down stories as it is a hot topic spanning many industries, but those stories are somewhat meaningless to the average American consumer.

The Christmas season is running smoothly for the average consumer, prices are down, and goods are on the shelf, this is all they are concerned about so it’s no wonder why when interviewed about the port slowdown “crisis” the average American is either unaware there is a crisis, or is apathetic towards it.

Even if President Obama were to take a harsher stance on the port slow down, he is still largely just a talking head – both parties must agree to meditation, and only then can the president assign the federal agency FMCS (Federal mediation and Conciliation Service) to broker talks between the parties.

According to the most recent accouchements from the ILWU spokesman there are currently no plans to request federal mediation to broker talks between parties.

Questions / Comments? Contact: Mark@cmaritime.com.cn