Those not prepared for such disruption could face adverse operational and economic impacts, including increased expenses, decreased revenues, loss of market share, and reputational damage.

The longshoremen's labor contract with port operators along the East and Gulf Coasts is set to expire Dec. 29, 2012.

In the event of an additional strike, retail, agriculture, food and beverage companies would be hit especially hard due to their profit-driven strategy of keeping inventory levels low and the sudden and severe backlog and rerouting pressures caused by a work stoppage, Marsh said in its report: US Port Strikes"”What's at Stake and How to Manage Your Risk. For each day of backlog accumulated during a port closure, affected organizations would typically need about eight days to stabilize inventory levels within their supply chains, the report said.

"The ability to move goods freely is an essential component of the global economy," said Gary S. Lynch, Global Leader of Risk Intelligence and Supply Chain Resiliency Solutions for Marsh Risk Consulting and lead author of the report. "As we saw with the [recent] West Coast port strike [in Long Beach and Los Angeles], such events have broad consequences, such as destabilizing trade flows, business, and economic conditions. That strike and a potential East and Gulf Coasts one come at an inopportune time given low growth in key markets like the U.S., Europe and China.

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