Royal Coffee’s Inbound Traffic Specialist, Jodi Louws, shares her thoughts on the intensifying global shipping disruptions with ongoing Red Sea blockades and a looming U.S port strike. Import delays, rising costs, and equipment shortages are expected to escalate, affecting coffee supply chains from Asia to the US.

It’s been nearly a year since Houthi fighters began targeting commercial vessels in the Red Sea, cutting off a vital freight corridor. As a result, shipments now must reroute around Africa, leading to increased costs, congestion, and equipment shortages at ports worldwide. For the coffee trade, this has meant a frustrating year of waiting for delayed deliveries to replenish low inventories.

Adding to the strain, a port strike looms in the US East Coast and Gulf. The International Longshoreman’s Association (ILC) maritime workers are headed towards a walk-out on September 30. The affected ports, including New York, Newark and Houston and 33 others, handle nearly half of U.S. imports. Even a one-day strike could take a week to clear, while a prolonged walk-out could cause ripple effects into 2025. When a port strike occurs, containers stack up, ships wait to dock, and new bookings may be rejected. Importers must pay all demurrage fees before containers are released. Trains run with low freight during the strike, and work through a bottleneck of containers to move once the strike resolves. 

As an Oakland-based importer, Royal Coffee is not facing this strike directly, but we anticipate secondary impacts. West Coast freight volumes are expected to surge, leading to congestion impacts in Los Angeles and delayed vessels into Oakland. Containers stuck in transshipment hubs will face longer waits, and any freight routed to Oakland via rail from Houston may get caught in the Gulf’s gridlock. 

This looming disruption could severely impact the coffee supply chain, from importers to roasters, causing delays and potential shortages. We are closely monitoring the situation and urge our partners to prepare for the potential challenges ahead.