Library Assignment: Port of LA Strike
1. The first article found in the LA Times is Port dispute: What you need to know written by Andrew Khouri. The second article was in USA Today called Automakers pinched by West Coast port delays written by James Healey. The third article was in CBS News called Retailers fret as products languish on ships, docks at port (author unknown). I chose to write about the LA Times article because it best laid out the details of the port strike. It made it very easy to read and al the different situations involved with this strike. I felt that this was one of the few articles that went into depth about the strike and the current situation of the strike. I think this is a very relevant topic because it is a local yet global situation. I found it interesting to see the impact of this strike and how it is affecting how we do business.
2. The article that the LA Times published broke down all major aspects of the strike so the reader could understand all basics of the strike and how it was going to ultimately affect them as a consumer. The article answered the questions the reader might have as well as went into depth about the port strike as well as the future of the strike and what the government is doing to ultimately fix this situation that is affecting all parts of the nation as well as globally. It gave all details about how this strike is going to have an effect on international and national trade.
3. The significance of the strike is not only is this affecting the import of goods in California, but also it is ultimately affecting others globally. With LA and Long Beach ports handling about 40% of the nations goods, this strike causes consumers to not have their goods come in or out of the country. It is taking longer for goods to get to businesses. Farmers who are shipping perishable fruits and vegetables are having all their products rot at the docks and those who send food to the US is facing a similar problem. Countries are also losing money on some of their goods and since they are not passing through the ports and onto the consumers in a timely manner. The article mentions that about 12.5% of our GDP is tied with the ports in California and so ultimately we are hurting the US economy. Local car companies that receive parts from other countries have to find alternative routes to have the parts ship to the factories. In the end, this is a cost that is being past onto the consumer or there is a shortage of goods being sold in stores. The article also gives an example if you have order your products from Amazon and it is coming from an Asian country, it might be stuck at the docks or it might be delayed due to this strike.
4. The big implication of this problem is that it is not only affecting trade in California but also around the globe. By not getting merchandise there is a chain affect that is happening. If a company is not able to get a specific part to build a car then they have to wait and stop current production of that car. They can possible have it rerouted but those are additional costs that are being past down at the consumer level. The biggest problem with this strike is that products are being held at the docks and they aren’t being moved. Both sides are going to become very limited in the products they carry if they are not able to get a new shipment in because it is held at the docks. This situation is affecting Asian countries the most since almost all Asian goods are routed through California. This is also causing a congestion issue at the ports. Since the ports are not moving cargo very fast, the truck drivers delivering the cargo have to wait until the merchandise is loading into the trucks. The ships that are delivering cargo have nowhere to drop off the cargo because the waters around the ports are also congested. So although goods are moving very slowly currently, there is a major bottleneck in the flow of goods and it’s causing a massive problem for those who are at the receiving and shipping ends of the lines of trade.
5. This relates to marketing strategies because of this port strike, it is going to affect how consumers get their goods and how companies are operating in this period of crisis. This has the potential of having an effect on all countries because the US is such a large player in the economy. Knowing how this impact is on other countries is important for a company that does international business around the world. They might have to currently change their strategies on how they get their products to their consumers. The whole company will have to rethink how they operate and how to solve their delivery problem when they do international business with especially Asian countries. It is all about being able to adapt to the situation and make those important changes or pay additional costs to ship products or import goods during this time of strike.