Labor secretary takes part in West Coast port talks

Labor Secretary Thomas Perez on Tuesday joined the efforts to resolve the West Coast port labor dispute that is tying up imports and exports, and threatening to eventually cause billions of dollars of damage to the U.S. economy.

Perez joined in the talks between the Pacific Maritime Association, representing shipping companies and port terminal operators, and the International Longshore and Warehouse Association union representing dock workers. The dispute has been marked by several days of shutdowns of 29 West Coast ports this month.

The latest closure to ship movements occurred over the Presidents' Day holiday weekend, with terminals not reopening until Tuesday. All sides were abiding by a news blackout on the talks and offered no comment Tuesday.

More than two-dozen ships, many of them stacked high with containers, lay at anchor off the contiguous ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, with similar scenes at the other big ports.

Businesses that depend on movement of goods are growing frustrated.

"All of our members have been impacted in one way or another," says Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain for the National Retail Federation. "We're happy to see Secretary Perez out there today."

Gold says the periodic shutdowns — and ongoing slowdown — are coming as retailers are counting on the arrival of spring merchandise, from apparel to patio furniture.

But the impact of the slowdown already is showing up in companies' earnings reports.

Hasbro, for instance, recently reported that it, along with the rest of the toy industry, faced a "significant challenge" due to the dispute. It was able to shift some of its shipments to East Coast ports, but the changes came at higher costs. It added, however, that it doesn't expect the changes to impact full-year profitability.