The Washington Council on International Trade released a study on Monday which concludes that the state lost $769.5 million in “economic activity” during the approximately six-month period of a West Coast port dispute that ended one year ago.
The trade group says that an estimated $555.8 million worth of exports were not shipped on waterborne containers during the port slowdown. Businesses spent an additional $152.6 million on airfreight shipments, resulting in a net loss by value of $403.2 million, the association said. Also, delays in delivery of imported goods through Washington ports cost businesses $345.1 million, the study said. These estimates do not include the long-term costs of the slowdown, such as lost customers and permanently rerouted supply chains, the trade council said.
“The 2014-2015 port management-labor contract dispute was catastrophic for our trade-supported state,” said Eric Schinfeld, the trade council’s president, in a news release. “We need to ensure that all parties are committed to working together to ensure that another slowdown doesn’t happen in four years.”
The study analyzes impacts of the slowdown across multiple industries, including agriculture and food processing, retail, and transportation and manufacturing. It is available at wcit.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/WCIT-Port-Delays-Economic-Impacts-Report-FINAL1.pdf.
