In a major sigh of relief to the maritime trade, the strike by the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) that closed down the ports in the US East Coast from October 1 is over—at least until January 15, 2025. The ILA and the United States Maritime Alliance Ltd (USMX) reached an agreement on wages.

Nearly 45,000 ILA workers at the 36 ports that handle roughly half of the goods shipped into and out of the US were on strike, demanding a wage hike and a curb on automation, which would lead to job loss.

A joint statement on ending the strike says, “The ILA and USMX have reached a tentative agreement on wages and have agreed to extend the Master Contract until January 15, 2025, to return to the bargaining table to negotiate all other outstanding issues. Effective immediately, all current job actions will cease, and all work covered by the Master Contract will resume.”

In a message to end the strike, the US President said, “I applaud the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance for coming together to reopen the East Coast and Gulf ports and ensure the availability of critical supplies for Hurricane Helene recovery and rebuilding. Collective bargaining works.”

“Thank God, the strike ended,” said a large garment manufacturer official. “If it had continued, the maritime trade would have collapsed. We hope that the shipments that are on the way to the US reach the destination on time to hit the shelves for the Christmas and New Year,” he added.

As the strike entered the third day on Thursday, some major shipping lines invoked force majeure and announced various surcharges.

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