Members of the International Longshoremen's Association's local in the Port of Mobile picket during the first day of a strike affecting every ILA port from Maine to Houston on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Mobile, Ala.Alabama’s auto industry is keeping a close eye on the longshoremen union strike, as it continues to shut down ports all across the East Coast and the South.
Hyundai’s manufacturing operations in Alabama are “monitoring the ILA strike closely,” said spokesperson Scott Posey. “In our global logistics network, we rely on an optimal transport mix of road, rail, air and water freight,” the spokesperson said in an email. “We are in close contact with our logistics service providers and are continuously monitoring the situation. In view of the current strike, we are constantly working on alternatives together with our transport partners.”
As Alabama’s only seaport, it connects the Gulf of Mexico to oceans, and has access to middle America through rivers, nine railroads, and Interstate highways 10 and 65. It’s also less than two miles from the Mobile Aeroplex. That connects the port to the core of the United States, even to Canada. APM Terminals Mobile and CSA Equipment Company, another Mobile employer, have workers who have joined the ILA Strike, said Mark Bass, president of the ILA local chapter.Both of those companies are members of the United States Maritime Alliance, Bass said, which is the key negotiator with the union, representing relevant employers at ports across the country. The United States Maritime Alliance’s contract with the union expired at midnight on Tuesday, after negotiations have stalled since June.
“We are closely monitoring the longshoreman strike; however, unless it is prolonged it should have little effect on Port of Decatur,” said Tim Parker III, president of Parker Towing Company, a family-owned barge line that operates terminals at the Port of Decatur. “Most of what is handled in the region and transported on the river is domestic and not from containers.”