The West Coast Port Strike Could Really Hurt The PC Industry

For those who do not know most of your PC components come into the United States by way of West Cost ports. This is the way the supply chain works and has worked for years. This supply chain runs the risk of coming to a grinding halt if labor relations between port managers and the port workers union does not improve soon.

West Coast Port Strike

Workers at these ports officially went on strike when labor negotiations between the Pacific Maritime Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union did not go so well. While the workers went on strike the ports remained open, but of course at a slower rate. The union had announced that it would completely stop work at the ports in protest.

This would bring PC component shipments into the US to a complete halt as components coming from Taiwan and China have to pass through these ports and are now backed up. We have already spoke to one representative from a well-known case company and they have said that the strike has slowed them down getting their products into the US and has caused delays.

There is not much that these companies can do but wait. This will cause them to push launched back. We have heard that some companies are facing a four-month delay in getting their products on shelves. This makes it very hard for these companies to give their customers an accurate delivery date on products.

The port delays could be extremely detrimental to the cashflow of these companies and delays could last as long as essentially a fiscal quarter. Many companies have started to reroute to ports on the east coast, or to Canada / Mexico. It has also been announced that the White House will intervene in the port strike. I guess only time will tell what is going to happen.

Source: VR World | News Archive

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