The Next Threat to Fashion’s Supply Chain

The news has been buried amid increasingly dire inflation reports, but fashion’s logistics nightmare appears to be easing. Container shipping costs are down by more than one-third from their peak last fall (though still more than double pre-pandemic levels), according to freight marketplace Freightos. But supply chain managers can’t breathe easy just yet. While the pandemic’s effects on garment factories and shipping are easing, labour strife at US West Coast ports is threatening to throw the crucial trans-Pacific trade route into chaos once again. Barring a last-minute breakthrough, unionised dockworkers at 29 West Coast ports from Southern California to Seattle will be working without a contract. Both labour and management say they’ll continue normal operations as they negotiate. But last time the two sides were at an impasse, in 2014, a months-long slowdown culminated in a strike the following February. Much like with Covid, the ripple effects on global supply chains lasted for months, with retailers struggling to keep shelves stocked and then facing a flood of out-of-season merchandise when ports worked through their backlog. In recognition of the high stakes, President Joe Biden met with representatives from the union and the ports in a visit to Los Angeles earlier this month, and recently signed into law a bill that aims to reduce ocean shipping costs.

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