Dockworkers along the East and Gulf coasts have pledged to strike unless a new contract is reached by October, prompting experts to warn higher prices and empty shelves could await consumers.

In fact, some experts say prices could rise before year’s end, impacting goods during the critical holiday season. The dire situation arose just as consumers were beginning to experience some relief from inflation.

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) is negotiating on behalf of 45,000 dockworkers at three dozen U.S. ports from Maine to Texas that collectively handle about half of the country’s seaborne imports. It warned its members are prepared to stop work if they don’t have a new contract by the Oct. 1 deadline. The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) said in a statement that “retailers view this strike and its imminent disruption as a self-inflicted wound to the U.S. economy.” JPMorgan estimated that for each day the ports are shut down, it will take roughly six days to clear the backlog. Analysts pegged the economic impact of a strike to about $5 billion per day, according to a research note published earlier this month.

Even though retailers have made contingency plans to minimize its effects,”the longer a work stoppage goes on, the harder it will be to do so,” the RILA said.

Several experts have told FOX Business that this type of disruption in shipping and supply chains often leads to product shortages, which drives up prices.

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