The unloading of hundreds of containers of imported coffee beans at East Coast ports has been halted due to a strike by dockers, exacerbating the supply crunch in the biggest coffee-drinking nation.
Delays in the delivery of imported coffee to U.S. roasters and coffee chains have pushed up bean prices, which hit multi-year highs last week due to limited supply, and increased costs for businesses and consumers. There is a possibility that
One coffee trader whose containers are stuck at a port says the price of coffee stored in U.S. warehouses is already rising as a result of the delays.
“We have about 40 containers waiting to be moved,” said the head trader of the nation's largest coffee importer, which supplies coffee to roasters and cafeterias across the country.
“Container owners have already said they will charge extra if it takes longer than usual to return the boxes,” he added, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the issue.
a dock workers strike The situation entered its second day Wednesday, halting the movement of containers through ports from Maine to Texas, affecting shipments of hundreds of products, including food.
Another trader said some coffee sellers had stopped offering spot trading as they watched the strike unfold.
Traders say U.S. coffee inventories are at historic lows as importers have avoided large inventories to reduce storage costs during periods of high interest rates.
This situation further exacerbates port problems.
“Supply could be tight in some areas (in the U.S.),” the first trader said.
However, industry insiders believe that the labor issue can be resolved quickly as the scale of the problem requires attention.
“We source coffee from 35 countries, so if this (strike) goes on for a long time, we're all going to be affected,” said Arkansas-based Westrock Coffee Company WEST.O. Operations Director Will Ford said.
