Labor contract negotiations between West Coast longshoremen and ocean terminal operators have been ongoing for more than a year and the previous contract expired nearly 12 months ago. While there are no long lines of ships waiting at anchor – as seen during past labor disputes – the situation is still very troubling for exporters of U.S. beef and for all levels of the beef supply chain.
Over the past year, despite lack of a labor contract, cargo movement was fairly steady on the West Coast, although sporadic work stoppages sometimes caused outbound shipments to be delayed. Port…
