FreightWaves has reported that negotiations between the International Longshoremen’s Association and port employers represented by the United States Maritime Alliance on a new longshore union contract covering East and Gulf Coast ports will resume on January 7, just days before the contract extension expires.

According to sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the decision to resume negotiations was unexpected and came together quickly. 

“They [the ILA and USMX] have been working informally, as you do in this situation,” a source told FreightWaves, who confirmed that negotiations would resume “within the next two weeks. They are coming up on a deadline.”

There have been no formal negotiations since early November when the ILA broke off talks, saying employers were trying to force automated container handling technology into a new contract in a bid to eliminate union jobs.

Recently, Hapag-Lloyd announced that imports from several countries would be subjected to Work Disruption Surcharge (WDS) and Work Interruption Destination Surcharge (WID) in the event of a strike, effective Jan. 20, 2025.

The East and Gulf Coast ports handle more than half of U.S. imports. 

In October, ILA workers went on strike, shutting down container handling and vehicle unloading at dozens of ports on the Eastern Seaboard and Gulf region.

Officials from the Biden administration helped broker an end to the strike, with the sides agreeing to a 62% pay raise over a new six-year master contract and current contract extension while resuming negotiations.