A threatened strike of 340,000 teamsters against UPS could be the costliest in U.S. history, according to analysis conducted by the Anderson Economic Group (AEG).

A 10-day strike would result in estimated losses of more than $7 billion in total economic losses. More than $1 billion would be lost in direct wages while UPS would be expected to suffer $816 million in losses, and UPS customers would suffer losses of more than $4 billion, AEG found. 

Other interruptions of comparable scale from the past 100 years include the 2019 UAW strike against General Motors, the 1970 U.S. postal workers strike, the 1992 rail strike and the 1959 steel union strike.

“In addition to having potentially severe consequences for those who need these supplies, this sort of interruption in service could prove very costly due to required intervention and emergency medical services,” said AEG analyst Shay Manawar.

To determine the economic impact of a potential UPS strike, AEG estimated losses that included lost wages to workers, lost earnings for UPS and direct losses to consumers that cannot be absorbed by substituting goods as well as lost goods, services and worker wages in other industries.