West Coast Port Strike

Shipping freight rates are being pushed up due to a U.S. West Coast port strike. Container ships are unavailable for new orders because of delays in offloading and taking on new cargo.

Off the large U.S. West Coast ports, dozens of container ships are lying in wait. Many of which have been waiting more than a week to enter port to unload or take on new cargoes.

A lot of vessels are being affected by the strike. There are a lot of delays and container rates are being pushed up due to fewer ships being available for new orders.

The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index for U.S. West Coast, USWC, rates rose 23 points last week to 2,265 and it was said that quotes had risen a further five points on Monday.

With a weighting of 20 percent each, USWC and European, port rates have the heaviest weighting in the overall Shanghai index.

Due to the months-long dispute between dockworkers and a group representing shippers and terminal operators, ports along the West Coast are near gridlock.

Due to a parts shortage caused by the partial shutdown of ports along the West Coast, Japanese carmaker Honda Motor Co Ltd plans to slow production at some of its plants in North America.

The maker of Subaru cars, Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd, said it would continue flying car parts to its U.S. factory through the end of February, beyond an initial arrangement.

President Barack Obama dispatched Labor Secretary Tom Perez to California to help broker an agreement between the shipping companies and dock workers because of cargo delays rippling through the U.S. economy,

Shippers said that other ports, in particular those on the U.S. East Coast, are trying gain market share by taking advantage of the strike by offering discounts.