STORY: Dockworkers striking at U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports could soon disrupt that most delectable of American culinary classics: the hamburger.
With more than 50 container ships already anchored or loitering off dozens of ports, a beef shortage in the U.S. could come in as soon as a week, according to food industry insiders.
The port strike, which stretches from Maine to Texas, also blocks shipments of everything from automobiles to Guatemalan bananas, Italian wine to Spanish olive oil.
Seafood imports and chicken exports are also being disrupted.
Industry members told Reuters that, in anticipation of the strike, suppliers to U.S. grocers and fast food restaurants ramped up imports of frozen lean beef that is mixed with domestic supplies to make hamburger meat.
McDonald’s and Burger King, which is owned by Restaurant Brands International, did not respond to requests for comment.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden on Wednesday said the port strike was holding up crucial supplies to southern states badly damaged by Hurricane Helene.
“We’re hearing from the folks originally that are having trouble getting the product they need because of the port strike. And look, there is a consortium of basically six owners that control all the ports from all the way East Coast down around the Gulf. And they’ve made incredible profits, over 800% profit since the pandemic. And the owners are making tens of millions of dollars from this. The last thing they need is to profit off of it. It’s time for them to sit at the table and get this strike done.”
Biden on Thursday said he believed progress was being made in the contract dispute between the International Longshoremen’s Association union and their employers.
