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Ocean carriers are updating vessel schedules and implementing surcharges on some goods ahead of a possible strike or work stoppage at East and Gulf Coast ports.

The International Longshoremen’s Association may strike if its master contract with the United States Maritime Alliance is not renewed by 11:59 p.m. ET tonight. If no agreement is reached, several terminals in the East and Gulf Coast will cease operations, limiting the amount of processed cargo.

“The fallout from a strike would hit industries like retail, automotive, and manufacturing hardest. Retailers, for example, are already rushing to import goods ahead of the holiday season. Without contingency plans, many companies will face severe shortages, missed deadlines, and skyrocketing logistics costs,” Christian Roeloffs, co-founder and CEO of Container xChange, said in a Sept. 26 customer advisory.

Here’s what ocean carriers are advising as shippers finalize their logistics contingency plans.

Maersk

Regarding Maersk’s ocean terminals on the East and Gulf Coasts, the carrier said “a labor disruption will impact all connected services, including moving cargo, gating, linehandling, and rail and trucking connectivity,” according to a Sept. 20 advisory.

The Denmark-based carrier will implement a local Port Disruption Surcharge for all cargo moving to and from U.S. East Coast and Gulf Coast terminals, effective Oct. 21. The list of surcharges are detailed below:

“This surcharge is necessary to cover the higher operational costs that will be incurred due to the service disruptions, ensuring the sustainability of our services and ongoing support for your supply chain requirements,” Maersk said.

CMA CGM

CMA CGM announced a local port charge at origin that will start Oct. 11 and continue until further notice, according to a Sept. 18 news release. The list of surcharges are detailed below:

Hapag-Lloyd

Hapag-Lloyd will be charging a Work Disruption Surcharge that will apply for imports to the East and Gulf Coast from all ports in North Europe, the Mediterranean, Africa, the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent, Oceania and Latin America, according to a Sept. 18 update. The surcharge will begin Oct. 18 and will remain until further notice, the carrier said. The details are listed below:

ONE

Ocean Network Express adjusted some of its vessel schedules, according to an East Coast operations update shared on Sept. 26.

Some of ONE’s North American imports needed to be discharged at alternative ports prior to a potential strike. For example, cargo destined to the Port of Savannah in Georgia was planned to be sent to the Port of Norfolk in Virginia. ONE said it will make an effort to conclude movement to any inland locations.

ONE is recommending that shippers pick up cargo at alternate discharging ports prior to Oct 1. The carrier said it will not implement a collect on delivery fee for cargo picked up at the alternate port of discharge for vessels.

Similar changes will apply to North American exports, but cargo may be rolled on to the next booked service vessels.

“This adds pressure to shippers who now only need to gate their cargo out rapidly during the weekend and Monday before the strike, but at the same time also need to pick the cargo up in ports which were not part of their original route planning,” CEO of Vespucci Maritime Lars Jensen said in a LinkedIn post on Friday.

MSC

MSC emailed customers an advisory on its plan to implement the Emergency Operation Surcharge starting Oct. 27. The surcharge will cover expected operational disruptions at U.S. ports, the carrier said. It will apply to all shipments from China, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia directed to the U.S. East Coast, Gulf and Canada East Coast.

Details of the charges are outlined below:

Other booking adjustments include rolling cargo to other vessels or cancelations.