Dive Brief:

• The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and their employers, represented by the Pacific Maritime Associaiton (PMA), will discuss a contract extension during a new round of talks the first two days of November, American Shipper reports.
• The ILWU represents West Coast dockworkers and although their contract with the PMA does not expire until 2019, but the groups are trying to get ahead of the curve in this round of negotiations.
• Last month, 128 trade organizations wrote a letter to the leaders of the two organizations pressing them to begin negotiations. Two years ago, the contract expired before an agreement had been reached, causing a nine-month cargo slowdown that was not resolved until February 2015. 

Dive Insight:

The West Coast strikes, complaints and other accumulated disruptions in 2014 caused widespread costs to shippers, transporters and makers alike. But it could not be resolved until the two parties agreed on terms, which took nine months. 

During that time, data from the Journal of Commerce suggests productivity in West Coast ports dropped up to 40%. No wonder 128 organizations, including the American Trucking Association and the National Retail Federation, actively pushed the parties to negotiate early this time around.

It would be too much to expect any sort of conclusion to arise from this first round of talks, but certainly both sides will bring unresolved issues to the table to begin ironing out agreements or at least communicating points of contention where possible.