TENSE SOCIAL CLIMATE IN PORTS AND SUPPLY CHAINS UNDER PRESSURE

Since January, French ports have been severely affected by a strike by dockworkers protesting pension reform. This conflict, which is intensifying and spreading to new ports, is disrupting the entire supply chain and forcing transport operators to review their organization. At the same time, European ports are also experiencing severe congestion, making the situation even worse. Here’s an update on the situation.

STRIKE ACTION AMPLIFIED ON A EUROPEAN SCALE

After an initial 48-hour “dead ports” action at the end of January, dockers have launched a four-hour walkout every other day until the end of February. The ports of Le Havre, Dunkirk, Marseilles and Lorient are particularly hard hit. The strike is causing major delays in the delivery of goods, and is having a heavy impact on road hauliers and companies dependent on maritime trade.

Beyond the blockades in France, the situation is also critical in the major European ports. In Antwerp, one of the main terminals had to temporarily suspend the entry of full containers destined for export, due to a maximum occupancy rate and an excessively low rate of outgoing imports. In Rotterdam, terminal congestion is leading to waiting times of up to five hours for container collection. Even Swedish ports have been affected, this time by strike action. These difficulties limit the alternatives available to French ports, and further slow down logistics flows.

MAJOR ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES

All these disruptions are weighing on companies at several levels:

• Cascading delays: deliveries are delayed by several days, affecting both imports and exports.
• Additional costs: carriers are incurring additional operating costs estimated at 23%, with sales losses reaching 25% in February.
• Detour of traffic: more and more exporters and importers are choosing foreign ports such as Genoa or Barcelona, jeopardizing the attractiveness of French infrastructures.

Faced with this situation, industry professionals are calling for urgent measures, such as the extension of duty-free periods to reduce parking costs, the optimization of loading slots and a review of the competitiveness of French ports.

As the social movement continues, the supply chain is bearing the full brunt of this logistics crisis, which could have lasting consequences for the organization of flows in Europe.