Port Shutdown Worries Asia

TOKYO (AP) - From Japan's automakers to Australia's meatpackers, exporters and manufacturers on the other side of the Pacific scrambled Friday to control the impact of a U.S. port shutdown that has left produce and parts in limbo.

The labor dispute, which has stopped all commercial shipping at 29 ports in California, Oregon and Washington, left food rotting in cargo holds and is costing the U.S. economy an estimated $2 billion daily.

If it's not resolved soon, many companies said they'd send their goods to Mexico and Canada to be unloaded and distributed to American consumers.

Among the first places to feel the impact outside of the United States were Asia and Australia.

The Australian Meat Council said as much as 7,700 tons of frozen and chilled beef, lamb and mutton was held up on ships off the west coast because the ships weren't able to unload.

Dennis Carl, chairman of the council's shipping committee, said much of the meat could spoil before it reached consumers. He said if the problem wasn't resolved, ships would be diverted to Vancouver, Canada.

``One week is a disruption, it's not a catastrophe,'' Carl said. ``Going beyond one week it starts to get serious.''

Hyundai Shipping Co., South Korea's largest shipping company, said it had three container ships waiting to be unloaded.

``For shipping companies like us, Asia-U.S. routes are the most important. If this strike continues, we will have to draw up contingency plans, such as rerouting our ships to other ports in the east coast, Canada and Mexico,'' said Lee Joon-ki, a company spokesman.

The strike was causing considerable concern in Japan.

``Japan's economic recovery is export-driven, so if the strike drags out, the impact would be heavy,'' said Naoki Murakami, an analyst with BNP Paribus Securities in Tokyo. ``Because much of Asian manufacturing still depends on the American market, it could also have strong repercussions on the region overall.''

Unable to get parts needed for production to their U.S. plants, automakers Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., and Nissan Motor Co., as well as electronics giant Sony and Canon, were all preparing for alternative shipping strategies. Some have had to halt production.

Sony said it saw the dispute coming two months ago and stockpiled parts and inventory in preparation, according to company spokeswoman Hiroko Saito.

But she said that if the ports aren't open in a week, the company will begin shipping its parts by air. After a month, they may reroute shipping through Vancouver.

Nissan and Toyota have both temporarily halted plant operations in the United States.

Toyota suspended production of Corollas, Tacomas and Voltz at its Fremont, Calif.-based Nummi plant, held jointly with General Motors Corp., reducing production by about 2,900 vehicles, said spokeswoman Nami Kanda.

Nissan also stopped operations over the weekend at its plant in Smyrna, Tenn., said spokesman Kenichiro Suga.

Canon, one of the world's largest manufacturers of printers and copiers, has already made arrangements to transport parts to its Virginia plant by air.

``Though we can't estimate the financial impact yet, the parts supplied from Japan tend to be key parts. This could complicate the disruption,'' said Canon spokesman Bunji Yano.

A spokeswoman for the 287-member Hong Kong Association of Freight Forwarding Agents said the lockout is ``certainly having a negative impact'' as the United States is the second-largest market for Hong Kong's exports.

In Singapore, shippers also grew more anxious Friday, with most mapping out contingency plans should the dispute continue, such as air transport for some goods or diverting ships to Canadian ports.

``It's very worrying now,'' said John Lu, head of the Singapore National Shipper's Council. ``Shippers are very concerned.''