Dive Brief:

• In case labor contract negotiations for 20,000 dockworkers at 29 west coast ports break down, retailers are bringing in goods early so that the labor issues don’t hurt Christmas inventories.

• Imports in May increased 5.8% compared to last year and could rise in June as much as 7.5%, according to the National Retail Federation’s Global Port Tracker report prepared by Hackett Associates. Retailers have also begun seeking alternative ways to get imported goods into their warehouses due to the delays, according to a report by the Journal of Commerce.

• The contract is between the workers represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and employers at port terminals and shipping lines operated by companies represented by the Pacific Maritime Association. Talks in San Francisco began Monday with a June 30 deadline to come to an agreement.

Dive Insight:

Timing of holiday shopping is moving up on the calendar, as it has been in recent years, making it that much more important for retailers to get their inventory in line to meet that demand. That could be made more difficult for many retailers if there is a breakdown in talks at west coast ports. In 2002, those ports shut down for 10 days when similar negotiations broke down.