More than $100 million a day of both imports and exports could be jeopardized if workers at the Port of Houston go on strike when their contract expires in six days.

A strike that is potentially just weeks away has the potential to have a weeks if not months-long impact on the U.S. economy.

Businesses are preparing for a strike by dockworkers on the East and Gulf Coasts, which could begin Oct. 1 if negotiations don’t yield a new contract.

A deadline of Oct. 1 for a new deal between port workers and ownership is approaching, and after talks broke down during the summer, tensions are high.

Dockers at 36 ports from Texas to Maine say they will walk off the job on October 1st after their contract expires. This is the first port labour dispute on the east coast since 1977. In recent years labour-related uncertainty has been more common on the west coast,

Failure to reach a new longshoremen contract deal risks many East and Gulf Coast ports closing before the year-end consumer spending push -- threatening billions in losses to businesses.

Just as US policymakers shift focus from curbing inflation to shoring up the job market, the economy faces a jolt that threatens the kind of supply-chain disruption and consumer discontent rife during the pandemic.

More than $2.4 billion worth of goods pass through New York and New Jersey's ports each week that are at risk with a possible dockworker strike next week.