MU supply chain professor says no immediate concern for Missouri as port strikes continue

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Roughly 45,000 dock workers from the Longshoremen’s Association continued to strike Wednesday across the East and Gulf coasts.

The workers are demanding better pay and a ban on the use of automated equipment.

The strike, which started on Tuesday, has raised concerns about a shortage of certain goods for some Americans.

However, Professor of Supply Chain Management at the University of Missouri Anthony Ross said he believes there is currently little concern for Missourians. Ross said Missouri could still receive most of its consumer products from the West Coast.

"When we think about that in the context of the kinds of things that we as consumers buy, they're all consumer products. Most consumer products in my humble opinion would come through the country to the U.S. and enter through the West Coast port," Russ said "So, those kinds of goods I don't know will have a significant impact of course, unless those ports go on strike as well."

Ross said Missouri is a state that provides goods such as transportation equipment, soybeans, wheat, corn and chemical companies. He said there could be an economic impact on the state if the state were unable to export those goods.

But concern over that isn't immediate.

"I think it's a function of how long this strike lasts because those ports on the West Coast can only handle so much trans shipment or redirected cargo freight," Ross said. "You know, farmers are now harvesting their crops and eventually we'll be needing to ship those out within the next I'd say, 30 to 90 days."

The Missouri Soybean Association was one of 272 organizations Wednesday to sign a letter to President Joe Biden calling for action to end the strike.

Casey Wasser, the chief operating officer of the Missouri Soybean Association said there could be an impact on local farmers.

"These disruptions in the critical supply chain are occurring in the middle of harvest season, which will have an immediate impact on the price farmers receive for their harvested grain," Wasser said.

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