Strike in Argentina

Argentina had a nationwide 24 hour general strike last week. Facing a strike in Argentina is not something most people in the shipping industry worry much about. They are usually very short and do not make a difference to the other ports of South America. This one seemed to be different. Although Argentina has had many smaller strikes over the past few years, this one is the first that was nationwide including all ports, major highways, and entities. Since the people were striking against paying income taxes and were protesting the government, the strike went across many lines within the country. It was completely organized and truly had an effect on transportation in Argentina as well as South America as a whole.

Striking for 24 hours does not seem like it could impact much in the way of international shipping, but since so many different parts of the country were involved, it created a larger force. All ports were closed, ships were unable to dock and unload their shipping containers. All flights were cancelled and planes were grounded including both domestic and international flights. All major roads were blocked and many people were unable to work even if they wanted to. There were delays of both people and cargo to contend with but only for a short time.

The next day, everything went back to normal, but what was left after the strike was the mess to clean up. People were back in business, but delays were noticeable. Ships were moving, planes were back in the air so international logistics was barely affected. The strike did however bring the issue to an international level of awareness for their cause. While this does not directly mean anything for the shipping industry, it seems the strike was worth it for the people involved.