Will port strikes lead to food shortages?

The economic impact of the ongoing longshoremens’ strike at ports on the East and Gulf Coasts largely depends on how long it lasts. If it starts to drag on, some imported food items could start to run low. But how quickly that happens partly depends on consumer and business behavior.

One example? Most of the bananas we eat come through ports impacted by this strike. So they could be one of the first grocery items to run low, says Joe Balagtas at Purdue University. 

“There’s only so many days, weeks that you could store bananas, but you could, you can build up stocks to prepare for this type of an event,” he said.

Which is exactly what many food importers did ahead of the strike, including Encore Specialty Foods in Hingham, Massachusetts. They import mustards, olives, vinegar, through the port of New York, says operations manager Hanley Scott.

“We certainly buffered our inventory as much as possible while not wanting to be overstocked,” she said.

Because overstocking means renting more warehouse space, a cost they’d eventually pass on to their customers, Scott says. 

Those customers, meanwhile, have been increasing their orders this week, which could put the company in a tough position if the strike drags on.

“We don’t want to give everything to one customer and then have nothing to give to others,” Scott said.

Something similar could play out at regular grocery stores if consumers start overstocking their own refrigerators and pantries, said Elliot Rabinovich at Arizona State University

“Which will create scarcity much more quickly,” he said.

So can we all just agree to keep calm and buy one jar of olives at a time?