East Coast and Gulf of America Coast dockworkers have reached a new six-year agreement following negotiations with the United States Maritime Alliance. The International Longshoremen’s Association union secured a 62% pay increase throughout the contract, insulating dockworkers’ wages from rising inflation.
While the pay increase is welcomed by dockworkers, it wasn’t the main point of contention that extended negotiations. Instead, the United States Maritime Alliance and International Longshoremen’s Association had a hard time coming together on automation. That’s behind them now as protections have been put in place to prevent automation from taking dockworker jobs.
What This Means for the U.S. Economy
With this new contract, companies in the U.S. don’t have to worry about strikes affecting supply lines into and out of the country until 2030. That’s a major win as problems at the coast can coalesce into larger struggles inland. That creates issues for consumers as delays and increased shipping prices affect purchases.
Today’s news affects 36 ports on the east side of the U.S., which are some of the busiest in the country. Both the United States Maritime Alliance and the International Longshoremen’s Association credit President Donald Trump as helping them secure an automation protection agreement.
What Shipping Stocks Are Worth Investing In?
With the dockworker union issues cleared, investors might consider taking a stake in shipping companies. Analysts are mixed on the sector with Maersk (AMKBY), one of the companies closely tied to the East Coast, having a Strong Sell Rating. ZIM Integrated Shipping Services is another hot name in the sector but only sports a Moderate Sell rating from analysts. Two with more bullish possibilities are Matson (MATX) and Genco Shipping (GNK) with Moderate Buy ratings. Each of them also has strong upside potential.
