“It was a huge relief for retailers, their customers and the nation’s economy that the strike was short lived,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. “It will take the affected ports a couple of weeks to recover, but we can rest assured that all ports across the country will be working hard to meet demand, and no impact on the holiday shopping season is expected. The strike wasn’t without impacts – retailers who brought in cargo early or shifted delivery to the West Coast face added warehousing and transportation costs. But the priority now is for both parties to negotiate in good faith and reach a long-term contract before the short-term extension ends in mid-January. We don’t want to face a disruption like this all over again.”

Members of the International Longshoremen’s Association went on strike at East and Gulf Coast container ports on October 1 after their contract with the U.S. Maritime Alliance expired. But the strike lasted only three days, ending after a tentative agreement was reached on a wage increase and a short-term contract extension until January 15. The move came after NRF led a coalition in asking President Biden to use “any and all authority” to end the strike.

Ports handled unusually large volumes of cargo beginning this spring as importers brought in goods early because of the potential for a strike and shifted a number of vessels to the West Coast, where dockworkers are represented by a different union.

“The surge in imports over the past few months has clearly been the result of contingency imports by wholesalers, retailers and industrial companies in anticipation of the East and Gulf Coast port strike rather than a sudden increase in demand,” Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett said. “We may see some short-term congestion on the West Coast but nothing significant, and East Coast delays should be limited.”

U.S. ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 2.34 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units – one 20-foot container or its equivalent – in August, although the Ports of New York/New Jersey and Miami have yet to report final data. That was up 0.9% from July and up 19.3% year over year for the highest volume since the record of 2.4 million TEU set in May 2022.

Ports have not yet reported September’s numbers, but Global Port Tracker projected the month at 2.29 million TEU, up 12.9% year over year. October is forecast at 2.12 million TEU, up 3.1% year over year. That is slightly higher than the 2.08 million TEU forecast for October a month ago, and the strike did not appear to affect national totals.

November is forecast at 1.91 million TEU, up 0.9% year over year, and December at 1.88 million TEU, up 0.2%. That would bring 2024 to 24.9 million TEU, up 12.1% from 2023. January 2025 is forecast at 1.98 million TEU, up 0.8% year over year, and February 2025 is forecast at 1.74 million TEU, down 11.2% because of fluctuations in the timing of Lunar New Year shutdowns at Asian factories.

The import numbers come as NRF is forecasting that 2024 retail sales – excluding automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants to focus on core retail – will grow between 2.5% and 3.5% over 2023.

Global Port Tracker, which is produced for NRF by Hackett Associates, provides historical data and forecasts for the U.S. ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the West Coast; New York/New Jersey, Port of Virginia, Charleston, Savannah, Port Everglades, Miami and Jacksonville on the East Coast, and Houston on the Gulf Coast. The report is free to NRF retail members, and subscription information is available at NRF.com/PortTracker. Subscription information for non-members can be found at www.globalporttracker.com.

As the leading authority and voice for the retail industry, NRF analyzes economic conditions affecting the industry through reports such as Global Port Tracker.

Posted: October 8, 2024

Source: The National Retail Federation (NRF)

See the full letter here.

“We respectfully ask that you urge the parties to reach a reasonable, fair, and expeditious conclusion given your role as a key negotiator and intermediary. The strike at East Coast and Gulf ports threatens not only our domestic competitiveness but also that of the broader Western Hemisphere textile and apparel co-production chain, which supports 2 million workers and $40 billion in annual two-way trade,” the letter reads.

Seventy percent of U.S. textile exports are shipped to the industry’s Western Hemisphere free trade agreement partners, who in turn produce finished apparel and home textile products for the U.S. market.

“The strike comes at a particularly difficult time when American textile manufacturers are reeling from the destruction of Hurricane Helene. Several companies have been hard hit as a result of this tragedy—some with severe structural damage and others with idled plants” the letter continues. “The industry’s main concern right now is prioritizing the safety and well-being of its employees and their families.  This strike couldn’t come at a worse time as the industry has seen the closure of 21 plants in the last 18 months. We appreciate your leadership in helping mitigate supply chain challenges, as well as your work in support of working families and your work on behalf of the U.S. textile industry. We ask for your urgent assistance in helping to end these widespread supply chain disruptions so that our industry can have a fighting chance to regain its footing amid other serious and ongoing challenges.”

Posted: October 2, 2024

Source: National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO)

“NRF urges President Biden to use any and all available authority and tools — including use of the Taft-Hartley Act — to immediately restore operations at all impacted container ports, get the parties back to the negotiating table and ensure there are no further disruptions.

“A disruption of this scale during this pivotal moment in our nation’s economic recovery will have devastating consequences for American workers, their families and local communities. After more than two years of runaway inflationary pressures and in the midst of recovery from Hurricane Helene, this strike will result in further hardship for American families. The administration must prioritize our economy — and the millions of Americans who depend on it for their livelihood and wellbeing — and intervene immediately to prevent further hardship and deeper economic consequences.

“It is essential that the ILA and USMX immediately resume negotiations with the intention of finalizing a new master contract without further disruptions and put an end to this stalemate.”

Last month, NRF issued a statement urging the parties to immediately resume negotiations. The group also spearheaded a letter signed by nearly 200 organizations to President Biden urging the administration to intervene and avoid a disruption.

In June, NRF led a coalition of 158 state and federal trade associations in a letter to President Biden urging the administration to work with the negotiating parties and to reach a new agreement. Earlier this year, NRF also sent a letter to ILA and USMX calling for the resumption of port labor negotiations.

As the leading authority and voice for retail, NRF will continue to advocate for policies and solutions that ensure supply chain resiliency.

Posted: October 1, 2024

Source: The National Retail Federation (NRF)

Statement by NCTO President and CEO Kim Glas:

“We appreciate the administration’s actions announced today, which represent a step forward in helping mitigate the impact of the de minimis provision.

“We have called on the administration to use its existing executive authorities to limit the severe damage to our industry created by the de minimis loophole. Today, the administration announced rulemaking to limit de minimis treatment for all imported products subject to U.S. trade remedies and penalties, including the Section 301 tariffs. This is an important, common-sense reform and critical first step. We amplify the need to expedite rulemaking to the fullest extent possible and appreciate their strong engagement with our industry. The administration also announced requirements for additional information on de minimis shipments and other enforcement measures.

“Further, the administration underscored the need for a comprehensive solution beyond this action announced today – underscoring the magnitude of the problem, and the inability to effectively enforce our laws with the flood of de minimis packages coming in daily and the need for an urgent solution. We share that same sense of urgency. We are calling on Congress and the administration to work together to immediately close this disastrous loophole once and for all.

“The U.S. textile industry, a strategic supplier of goods to the U.S. military and PPE is experiencing severe demand destruction fueled by de minimis shipments flooding our market with cheap, illegal imports because of this nonsensical outdated trade loophole. De minimis has facilitated illegal and forced labor products to our doorsteps at the cost of American jobs and our manufacturing sector.

“The flood of boxes coming into the United States under an outdated 1930s trade provision rewards Chinese e-commerce platforms and cheaters with a free trade agreement. It makes detecting illegal products effectively impossible. De minimis hides a black market of goods and puts people and consumers at risk. Half of the 4 million de minimis boxes a day are estimated to be textile and apparel goods – which is why we greatly appreciate the administration calling for the global exclusion of trade sensitive items – including textiles and apparel – from de minimis treatment given the sensitivity of the sector and rampant cheating. If enacted and effectively enforced, this will help significantly bring down the volume of these goods to better detect fentanyl and other illicit and dangerous products and help U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) do its important work in the field with our law enforcement officers. Time is of the essence because there is so much at stake.

“We also underscore the need for Congress and the administration to immediately eliminate this disastrous loophole once and for all in the coming weeks. We will continue pressing for comprehensive reform given the urgency of the crisis – not just for our industry which has lost 19 plants this last year — but for all industries and consumers and families impacted by this loophole.

“Finally, we applaud the administration’s directive on developing a plan for immediate textile and apparel procurement. This is critical to our industry, and we stand ready to supply more goods to the U.S. government. We also appreciate the administration’s stepped-up textile and apparel enforcement efforts over the last few months and their ongoing engagement with this critical industry. Today they announced their efforts to date.  We want to thank Department of Homeland

Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, DHS, and the CBP team for prioritizing this at such a critical time.”

Posted: September 13, 2024

Source: National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO)

Signatories included groups representing farmers, livestock and specialty crop producers, lenders and other essential stakeholders in agricultural communities across the U.S. Commodity and lending groups will head to the Capitol en masse this week to advocate for passage of the legislation with a stronger agricultural safety net.

“It is critical that Congress pass a new farm bill that strengthens the safety net as many producers are facing multiple years of not being profitable, and this is causing their overall financial situation to deteriorate,” the letter said. “Some will have challenges as they seek operating credit for the 2025 crop year.”

The farm bill is typically passed every five years and supports the nation’s farmers, ranchers and forest stewards through a variety of safety net, credit, conservation and other critical programs. The law was originally scheduled for reauthorization in 2023. Last November, Congress voted to extend the existing legislation to September 30, 2024. Since that point, the leadership from both parties on the Senate and House Agriculture Committees have worked to push the legislation forward.

As the farm bill has faced delays, producers across the country have experienced headwinds, ranging from extreme weather to high input costs to uncertain global demand to supply chain disruptions.

Since the beginning of the year, the harvest price of major crops traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Intercontinental Exchange have fallen by an average of 21% while total production costs remain near record levels.

Farmers and their allies say these challenges have exposed areas of the farm bill that need to be strengthened.

“Since the 2018 Farm Bill was signed into law, we have realized considerable gaps in the farm safety net due to sharply changing conditions, including the trade war with China, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, COVID-19 and related supply chain challenges, rising foreign subsidies, tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers and other harmful practices,” the letter said. “These conditions seriously tested the effectiveness of the 2018 Farm Bill, and it was only by the aggressive use of supplemental assistance that many farms survived.”

The letter noted that the outlook for farm country is even more daunting, as the USDA-projected market prices for the 2024 crop are well below costs of production, and current projections paint another bleak picture for 2025.

“The farm bill reauthorization provides an opportunity for Congress to address serious challenges in agriculture,” the letter said. “A durable farm safety net, along with risk management tools like a strong federal crop insurance program, voluntary and locally led incentive-based conservation programs, and enhanced international marketing and promotion programs, will be critical in shoring up America’s farm families and rural communities, which otherwise face an uncertain — and potentially calamitous — future.”

Posted September 10, 2024

Soure: National Cotton Council

“Securing a booth for INDA during the 2024 NCSL Legislative Summit provided numerous opportunities to speak directly with state legislators and policy stakeholders on wipes labeling and other issues prevalent in the nonwovens industry today,” Fisher said. “The high-level conversations and product demonstrations we had were instrumental in highlighting the crucial role of nonwoven fabrics in consumer households and industrial applications.”

The annual NCSL Legislative Summit hosts one of the nation’s largest and most influential gathering of state legislators, staff, corporations, government agencies, and trade associations. State and national media publications cover the event, disseminating news and stories across the country.

Posted: August 22, 2024

Source: INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry

Statement by NCTO President and CEO Kim Glas:

The entire U.S. textile industry is mourning the loss of Congressman Bill Pascrell (D-NJ), a true leader and advocate for critical manufacturing policies aimed at bolstering the domestic supply chain and confronting ongoing threats from predatory trade practices.

We commend his significant contributions – not just to the U.S. domestic industry — but for American manufacturers and workers everywhere.

Rep. Pascrell had served as co-chair of the House Textile Caucus with Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) since 2013 and was an ardent fighter for the U.S. textile industry and beyond.

In April, Congressman Pascrell championed a bill titled the Import Security and Fairness Act led by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) that would exclude all Chinese imports from de minimis treatment, as highlighted in our blog post on a House Ways & Means markup.

He also penned an op-ed with Congressman McHenry highlighting the urgent need to drive investment and for onshoring and nearshoring textile and apparel production and to not weaken the critical U.S. and Central America  Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR)..

In addition, he co-sponsored legislation aimed at strengthening the American PPE supply chain which would expand the Berry Amendment to nearly all federal purchases of PPE.

As is evidenced above, Congressman Pascrell took on every policy battle in support of U.S. textiles and manufacturing in general as an unwavering supporter of maintaining and expanding a vital domestic manufacturing chain.  He worked closely with Rep. McHenry on critical textile issues to advance the cause for our domestic industry and its workforce.

He will be missed deeply by the industry and to all who knew him. We extend our gratitude to a manufacturing warrior and express our condolences to the entire Pascrell family and his staff team.

Posted: August 21, 2024

Source: National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO)

“The White House’s misguided reversal in support of plastic production caps is not only impractical but directly harmful to all U.S. manufacturers and will get us no closer to reaching our shared environmental goals,” said Matt Seaholm, President and CEO of PLASTICS.

“The plastic industry is the seventh largest manufacturing industry in the United States and employs one million people. With this decision, the White House has turned its back on Americans whose livelihoods depend on our industry, as well as on manufacturers in all sectors that rely on plastic materials.

“Plastic offers unparalleled safety, protection, and efficiency and can be reused and recycled, reducing our overall resource needs. An independent study confirms plastics have lower total greenhouse gas contribution than alternative materials. Yet, the White House’s decision ignores these facts in favor of misinformation spread by anti-plastic activists.

“Furthermore, this reversal has undermined U.S. negotiators’ influence in UN negotiations as other countries know this extreme position will not receive support in the U.S. Senate.

“We are dedicated to keeping plastic waste out of the environment and believe we need to work together to achieve this. However, the White House’s drastic position change will not accomplish this goal, only set us back.”

The Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) is the only organization that supports the entire plastics supply chain, including Equipment Suppliers, Material Suppliers, Processors, and Recyclers, representing over one million workers in our $548 billion U.S. industry.

Posted: August 14, 2024

Source: The Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS)

“Retailers are concerned by the possibility of a strike at ports on the East and Gulf coasts because contract talks have stalled,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. “Many retailers have taken precautions including earlier shipping and shifting cargo to West Coast ports. We hope to see both sides resolve this issue before the current contract expires because retailers and the economy cannot afford to see a prolonged strike. This comes on top of ongoing disruption issues including the attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea. Vessel diversions have led to increased shipping times and costs and have led to equipment shortages and congestion in Asian ports.”

The contract between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance covering East Coast and Gulf Coast ports is set to expire on September 30. Negotiations have broken down and the ILA has threatened to strike if a new contract is not reached by then. NRF has continued to urge the parties to return to the table to continue negotiations. Rising freight rates have also prompted importers to ship earlier.

“Importers are continuing to grow their inventories and are shifting cargo to the West Coast as a precaution against potential labor disruptions,” Hackett Associates Founder Ben Hackett said. “We calculate that the shift has pushed the West Coast share of cargo we track to above 50% for the first time in over three years.”

U.S. ports covered by Global Port Tracker handled 2.16 million Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units — one 20-foot container or its equivalent — in June, the latest month for which final numbers are available. That was up 3.6 percent from May and up 17.7 percent year-over-year. That brought the total for the first half of 2024 to 12.1 million TEU, up 15 percent over the same period in 2023. (The totals include estimates for the ports of New York/New Jersey and Miami, which have not reported TEU counts for June.)

Ports have not yet reported July’s numbers, but Global Port Tracker projected that volume shot up to 2.34 million TEU, up 22.1 percent year-over-year and the highest level since the record of 2.4 million TEU set in May 2022. August is forecast to also total 2.34 million TEU, up 19.2 percent year-over-year.

September is forecast at 2.16 million TEU, up 6.5 percent year over year; October at 2.09 million TEU, up 1.7 percent; November at 1.98 million TEU, up 4.4 percent, and December at 1.94 million TEU, up 3.5 percent. Those numbers would bring 2024 to 24.9 million TEU, up 12.1 percent from 2023.

The import numbers come as NRF is forecasting that 2024 retail sales — excluding automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants to focus on core retail — will grow between 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent over 2023.

Global Port Tracker, which is produced for NRF by Hackett Associates, provides historical data and forecasts for the U.S. ports of Los Angeles/Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma on the West Coast; New York/New Jersey, Port of Virginia, Charleston, Savannah, Port Everglades, Miami and Jacksonville on the East Coast, and Houston on the Gulf Coast. The report is free to NRF retail members, and subscription information is available at NRF.com/PortTracker . Subscription information for non-members can be found at www.globalporttracker.com.

Posted: August 8, 2024

Source: The National Retail Federation (NRF)

Statement by NCTO President and CEO Kim Glas:

“We commend Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bob Casey (D-PA), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) for their leadership and support for this bipartisan legislation that would tighten the rules for the entry of millions of imported packages coming through the de minimis loophole each day and help level the playing field for domestic textile and apparel manufacturers severely harmed by the onslaught of these shipments.

“This bill eliminates de minimis for the most import-sensitive products and goods subject to trade remedies, including the vast majority of textile and apparel imports from China and the rest of the world. It is a major step in the right direction toward closing the loophole. De minimis shipments have grown exponentially due to the explosion of e-commerce and the growth of companies like Shein and Temu that have built their business models around this duty-free loophole. As a result, the U.S. market has been inundated with a flood of low value, subsidized and often illegal and tainted imports that are endangering U.S. consumers and undermining the U.S. textile and apparel production chain.

“We believe Senator Wyden’s legislation will go a long way toward thwarting bad actors who have been profiting from this unchecked gateway by sending in goods made with forced labor, counterfeits, toxic goods, and illicit narcotics.

“This bill is the most comprehensive approach to de minimis reform to date. It would not only close de minimis to the vast majority of textile and apparel imports, but also impose new penalties for violations, require additional data reporting on all de minimis packages, and impose small customs user fees on packages. We are encouraged by this strong legislative approach and believe it will help shield and support the vital domestic textile and apparel manufacturing supply chain that employs more than 501,000 workers and produces $64.8 billion in output.”

Posted: August 8, 2024

Source: National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO)