Halstrom Pleased To See Port Agreement

U.S. longshoremen have reached a contract agreement with ports and shippers, averting a potential strike.  The two sides had been facing a January 15th deadline.  U.S. Meat Export Federation President and CEO Dan Halstrom is pleased.

“With the level of exports on the pork side, 45% of the waterborne exports are going through the East Coast and Gulf, and about 30% of the beef, of which, on the beef side, some of the higher-value chilled business is going through there," Halstrom said.  "So, any snafu in a supply chain is a problem, especially on the East Coast and Gulf as it relates to some of our key pork and beef products.” 

In a joint statement, the two sides said the agreement protects union jobs and allows ports on the East and Gulf coasts to modernize with new technology.

“Very appreciative that the two sides were able to come together on a full contract, and very appreciative of the fact that there will be no disruption and that we can continue to focus on the business and as we all know, the business has been growing, and has a lot of potential growth in the future,” Halstrom added.

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