The Norman Transcript

Headlines

Discussion

December 28, 2012

Time runs short to avert strike

The Associated Press Associated Press

NEW YORK — In just a few days, a walkout by thousands of dock workers could bring commerce to a near standstill at every major port from Boston to Houston, potentially delivering a big blow to retailers and manufacturers still struggling to find their footing in a weak economy.

More than 14,000 longshoremen are threating to go on strike Sunday — a wide-ranging work stoppage that would immediately close cargo ports on the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico to container ships.

The 15 ports involved in the labor dispute move more than 100 million tons of goods each year, or about 40 percent of the nation’s containerized cargo traffic. Losing them to a shutdown, even for a few days, could cost the economy billions of dollars.

“If the port shuts down, nothing moves in or out,” said Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation. And when the workers do return, “it’s going to take time to clear out that backlog, and we don’t know how long that it’s going to take.”

Shipments of such varied products as flat-screen TVs, sneakers and snow shovels would either sit idle at sea or get rerouted, at great time and expense. U.S. factories also rely on container ships for parts and raw materials, meaning supply lines for all sorts of products could be squeezed.

Joseph Ahlstrom, a professor at the State University of New York’s Maritime College and a former cargo ship captain, called container ships the “lifeblood of the country.”

For local news and more, subscribe to The Norman Transcript Smart Edition, or our print edition.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Headlines
  • Severe Weather Plaza Towers teacher’s aide recounts twister

    When the tornado siren sounded at Plaza Towers Elementary in Moore on Monday afternoon, Maylene Sorrels had one reaction: protect her students....

    May 22, 2013 1 Photo

  • Tornado_Search_&_Rescue_1_BV Officials vow not to quit looking until everyone is found

    The tornado that killed 24 people and injured at least 100 others in the Moore and Oklahoma City area cut a17 mile long path that started in Newcastle and ended at Lake Stanley Draper. Nine of the dead are children....

    May 22, 2013 1 Photo

  • First victim identified

    MOORE — The first victim of Moore’s tornado was identified by family as 9-year-old Janae Hornsby, a Plaza Towers Elementary student, according to a local news station....

    May 22, 2013

  • P1013515 Norman church serves storm victims

    Journey Church was humming with activity Tuesday morning as hundreds of volunteers worked to organize donated goods for the victims of Monday’s tornado in Moore....

    May 22, 2013 2 Photos

  • 20130521_mooretornado4 Joplin pays it forward to Moore following Monday twister

    MOORE — Joplin is paying it forward. The day before the two-year anniversary of an EF-5 leveling one-third of Joplin, pastors from Ignite Church responded to Moore, where an EF-5 spent 40 minutes on the ground....

    May 22, 2013 1 Photo

  • Curfew set for Moore; search process explained

    Police arrested two men on looting complaints Tuesday after homeowners saw the men and alerted authorities, said Moore Police Department spokesman Jeremy Lewis....

    May 22, 2013

  • City awarded communities incentive grant

    The city of Norman was one of 21 cities recently awarded a Healthy Communities Incentive Grant from the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust....

    May 22, 2013

  • little axe 1 Little Axe seniors celebrate graduation

    Family, friends and faculty set aside grief and concern for Sunday’s and Monday’s tornado devastation Tuesday evening and celebrated the graduation of the Little Axe High School class of 2013....

    May 22, 2013 1 Photo

  • County crews will assess property damages

    The Cleveland County assessor expects that the number of homes destroyed by Monday’s tornado will exceed the total from the May 1999 tornado that devoured much Moore....

    May 22, 2013

  • Through the field of wreckage

    Again, it was Moore. For the third time in less than 15 years, residents of this city of about 60,000 must mourn their dead, help the living and pick up the pieces of shattered lives that now lay in a field of wreckage....

    May 22, 2013