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Following a strike at the US East and Gulf Coast on Tuesday, port operations finally settled a wage deal with dockworkers, ending the country's biggest strike in 50 years.

The strike was estimated to cost the US industry billions of dollars every day and was a huge risk to businesses that heavily rely on seaports, particularly retail companies. With the reopening of the port, operations are off to a start.

However, Reuters reported that there is one problem: cargo backlog ships waiting to unload. Currently, there are at least 54 ships lined up and more ships are expected to arrive, which will add to the challenge of clearing the backlog.

Experts believe it will take US East and Gulf Coast ports two to three weeks to return to its normal flow. Decisions on arriving ships will also be considered, given the current backlog. With the congestion problem, supply chains cannot instantly be fully restored as well.

The good news is that the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) and the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) reached a 62% wage increase deal, raising average hourly wages to $63 from the former $39.

Aftermath of Dockworkers Strike at US Ports

Previously, shipping stocks already increased due to the expectation of price increases caused by the strike and Middle East conflict. Now, the strike's end surprised investors, which is not a good thing. As a result, the Wall Street Journal learned that shipping stocks in Asia dropped since freight rates were not expected to increase.

To be specific, A.P. Moeller-Maersk dropped by 7.7%, while Nippon Yusen dropped by 9%. As the two largest companies in the global shipping industry, this affects supply chains, car transportation, container shipping and bulk shipping of fleets like tankers,

Among the most affected are retailers like IKEA, Home Depot, and Walmart since they rely on the shipment of their goods in these ports.

Besides wage disputes, port operators have yet to reach a deal with dockworkers in terms of automation issues.