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The recent port strike has concluded (for now), with limited impacts on most industries. Nearly 50,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) walked off the job, putting billions of dollars' worth of goods at risk of severe delays.

On the first day of the strike (October 1, 2024), 147 vessels carrying approximately $34.3 billion in goods arrived at 14 idle ports along the East and Gulf coasts. This strike occurred during peak shipping season, affecting as much as 49% of all U.S. imports.

Data from ImportGenius and Arbor Data Science highlights the companies with the greatest exposure to the strike based on the number of twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) imported at these ports over the past year. Walmart emerged as the most exposed company overall.

In preparation for the strike, Walmart announced that it had stocked extra inventory in key product categories to mitigate potential supply chain disruptions. Over the past year, Walmart imported an average of 4,000 TEUs per month through these ports, with each container valued at approximately $50,000.

Other major retailers, including IKEA and Home Depot, also faced significant exposure, along with tech firms Samsung and LG, which ranked among the top five highest importers last year.

The auto industry is similarly vulnerable, with Hyundai, General Motors, and major tire manufacturers importing thousands of containers through these ports annually. A prolonged strike could lead to increased production costs due to shortages of essential inputs, although recent recovery in automaker inventories may provide some buffer against immediate disruptions.