Striking truckers in South Korea reach an agreement with the government - Bloomberg
Striking truckers in South Korea reached an agreement with the government, ending a weeklong work stoppage that threatened the nation’s economy and added to strains on global supply chains, according to Bloomberg.
The drivers began returning to work Wednesday morning after agreeing to extend a freight rate system that guarantees minimum wages.
Under the deal, the transport ministry will provide subsidies to alleviate pressure on surging fuel costs, according to a statement from the Cargo Truckers Solidarity division of the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers Union.
While road transport is being restored, the backlog of containers at ports may take a while longer to clear. The length of dwell times for boxes at the Busan port skyrocketed to 11 to 14 days on Tuesday, up from last week’s median wait time of about 3 to 4 days, according to logistics intelligence provider Project44.
Inbound and outbound volumes at Busan, among the world’s 10 busiest container ports, were about half their usual amount on Tuesday, according to data from the transport ministry. The daily volume of container boxes transported to and from the nation’s 12 ports dropped 53% compared with the average for May.
The strike, which started June 7, roiled industries amid fears of higher costs and wider upheaval to global supply chains after Covid-19 lockdowns in China and Russia’s operation in Ukraine.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy estimated this week that key industries have seen production disruptions worth about 1.6 trillion won ($1.2 billion).
South Korea isn’t alone in seeing organized workers snarl the movement of goods this year. As countries try to repair their supply chains after 2 ½ years of disruptions, several current labor actions are clouding the outlook. Here are a few examples:
Major railroads in the US including Union Pacific and BNSF remain at an impasse with their unions after a government board ended efforts to mediate a settlement.
Employers and the union representing more than 22,000 dockworkers at 30 US ports on the West Coast are unlikely to reach a deal before their contract expires next month but neither side foresees disruptions.
In Europe, about 2,400 dockworkers went on strike for about five hours on June 9 at the German ports of Emden, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Wilhelmshaven and Hamburg, the United Services Union said in an e-mail reply to queries. That strike disrupted operations last week and has put pressure on already congested container yards, according to shipping experts.
Waiting times for import containers into Hamburg have risen to 5.5 days, up from last month's low of 4 days, according to Project44.
Meanwhile congestion has worsened at Wilhelmshaven, where dwell times for import containers have surged to 11 days, up from 5 days on May 23.