Alternative East Coast ports — including Montreal, where half of the terminals are shut down by a strike — will not be able to handle large scale diversions.

The strike affects ports with the combined capacity to handle as much as half of all U.S. trade volumes.

The three-day strike started at 7 a.m. EST on September 30 at the Port of Montreal's Viau and Maisonneuve Termont terminals.

Key industry and government officials are urging U.S. dockworkers and their employers to avoid a strike at East and Gulf coast ports this week.

Several terminals at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach remained closed on September 27, after a tractor-trailer overturned on a vital artery for cargo.

The ILA halted negotiations with the USMX in June, after discovering that a handful of ports were using automated systems to check in trucks.

Vancouver handled about 52% of grain produced across Canada last year, according to the Grain Growers of Canada trade group.

This comes a week after the DOJ filed a $100 million claim against the Singapore-based companies that own and manage the Dali container ship. 

The deal was first announced on September 22, with CMA CGM aiming to pay 6.3 billion reais ($1.13 billion) up front to buy a 47.6% stake in Santos Brasil.

If East and Gulf Coast ports are forced to shut down, the U.S. could see inventory shortages, higher costs at grocery stores, and months-long container backlogs.