Olin Expert: Strike tests U.S. supply chain resiliency

  • October 2, 2024
  • By Sara Savat
  • 1 minute read
overhead view of a container ship and stacked containers

Once again, the nation faces a potential supply chain shock—this time from a strike of 50,000 longshoremen that began September 30.

Panos Kouvelis
Kouvelis

The strike by the International Longshoremen’s Association affects 36 ports on the Gulf and East coasts; more than half the U.S. container shipping trade goes through these ports.

How will the strike affect supply chains and prices? Have manufacturers and retailers learned anything from previous supply chain disruptions, particularly those caused by COVID-19?

Panos Kouvelis, the director of the Boeing Center for Supply Chain Innovation at WashU Olin, warned that the strike could pose “a serious disruption for the U.S. supply chains.”

Read more here. 

 

What we learned through the pandemic is that we forget complex systems depend on thousands of small and midsize retailers and suppliers that might not have planned ahead enough, either due to lack of funds or adequate expertise.  

Panos Kouvelis

 

Update: Longshoremen returned to work on Friday, October 4, after the two sides reached agreement on wage increases. Learn more about the strike’s impact on consumer buying behavior in this St. Louis Post Dispatch article, which interviewed Fausto Gonzalez, Olin assistant professor of marketing.

About the Author

Sara Savat

Sara Savat

As a senior news director for social sciences, I write about political science, religion (and their intersection), sociology, education, anthropology, philosophy and linguistics. I have a passion for storytelling and enjoy working with our world-renowned faculty and members of the media to bring research to life for the public. Prior to joining the Public Affairs team, I worked in public relations at SSM Health and covered academic medicine at Saint Louis University. I have a master’s degree in communication from SLU. Outside of work, I am most likely to be found at a dance studio or cheering from the sidelines of a soccer field. My family and I also love traveling, camping and visiting national parks.

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Sara Savat
Senior News Director, Business and Social Sciences