News

West Coast labor dispute impact being felt

Longshoremen and port employers have agreed to federal mediation to help resolve a contract dispute that is being blamed for severe congestion at West Coast ports.

As the dispute has intensified in recent weeks, supply chain bottlenecks have worsened. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says agriculture and other businesses in the Midwest are starting to feel the impact.

“I was informed by Iowa constituents that at least one major U.S. railroad has already stopped accepting container shipments bound for the West Coast ports as a result of the backlog of containers at the ports,” Grassley says. “Some industry sources have informed me that the West Coast ports have only been operating at about 50 percent capacity in recent weeks.”

Grassley has sent a letter to President Obama urging him to do everything possible to facilitate an end to the labor dispute.

AUDIO: Chuck Grassley

NO FRENCH FRIES!?!

For fans of McDonald’s French fries in Venezuela, the situation has become very serious. Venezuela’s more than 100 franchises have run out of frozen fries and are now serving alternatives like arepa flatbreads or yucca in their place.  The dispute also caused several days of French fry rationing in Japan last month. McDonald’s says the West Coast shipping slowdown is making it difficult to get their frozen fries to those countries.