Looming port strike by the numbers: New York, Savannah, Baltimore expected to see disruptions

Three dozen ports along the East and Gulf coasts are facing a potential work stoppage as the deadline for a new contract between port employers and dockworkers edges closer.

Tens of thousands of dockworkers represented by the International Longshoremen’s Association could walk off the job and begin striking as soon as Tuesday if the union and the U.S. Maritime Alliance do not reach an agreement.

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FOX Business takes a closer look at three major East Coast ports that would be affected by a work stoppage.

Port of New York and New Jersey

The Port of New York and New Jersey is the largest on the East Coast and third largest in the nation based on cargo volume. It has a total of six terminals through which various types of goods move.

More than 7.8 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo went through the Port of New York and New Jersey last year. It moved about $271 billion worth of goods in 2022, according to a port fact sheet.

Some of the top imported commodities it handles include furniture, appliances, plastics, beverages, spirits and vinegar, and electric machinery and parts, according to a fact sheet. It also helps facilitate the exportation of large volumes of vehicles and parts; wood and wood pulp; plastics and other goods.

Port of Savannah

Shipping containers and cranes at the Port of Savannah in Savannah, Georgia, on Sept. 9, 2023. (Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The Georgia Ports Authority has called the Port of Savannah “home to the largest single-terminal container facility of its kind in North America.”

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According to the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce, it handled 22.1% of East Coast container trade last year. The Port of Savannah saw 5.4 million TEUs go through its facilities in fiscal 2023.

It has reported TEUs of 3.68 million from the start of the year through August. 

It features the biggest refrigerated container import-export terminal in the Southeast, according to the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce.

Port of Baltimore

Two dockworkers talk next to stacked containers at the Port of Baltimore in Baltimore on Oct. 14, 2021. (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The Port of Baltimore has six public and 31 private terminals.

It saw 1.1 million TEU containers in 2023, according to a February press release from the Maryland governor’s office.

The Port of Baltimore led U.S. ports in “handling automobiles, light trucks, farm and construction machinery, as well as imported sugar and gypsum” last year, the Maryland State Archives said. It also exported the second-largest amount of coal.

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More than 847,000 cars and light trucks went through its terminals last year.

The Maryland State Archives said the Port of Baltimore was “within an overnight drive of one-third of the nation’s population.”

Maryland has estimated that the port and its operations bring $70.28 billion in economic value to the state.