On January 9, 2012, the Journal of Commerce published an article noting that local talks between the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and the New York Shipping Association were broken off, less than two weeks after the contract extension between the ILA and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) at the end of December, 2012.

It is uncertain what effect the negotiation breakdown between the ILA and the New York Shipping Association will have on the negotiations between the ILA and the USMX, which are scheduled for next week.

The contract was originally extended from September 30 to December 29, 2012, and then to February 6, 2013.

Expeditors is monitoring the situation closely, and will provide more information as it becomes available.

The JOC article is available online here.