THE International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) and United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) are expected to resume talks for a new master contract today (January 7), sources said.

The scheduled resumption of negotiations leaves a small window before the current contract extension runs out on January 15 and a likely second strike by the ILA hits ports along the US East and Gulf coasts.

The ILA and USMX declined to comment on the status of talks that affect 45,000 dockworkers.

While the ILA and USMX have come to terms on wages for a new master contract, the formal negotiations have stalled since mid-November when the parties agreed on wages - a 62 per cent increase.

Automation remains the major impasse between the longshoremen and their employers.

Importers and exporters are hoping to avoid a lengthy and disruptive strike that would wreak havoc across major ports on the East and Gulf coasts, reports the New York Post.

The ports handle about half of all the country's container volumes, according to data from the American Association of Port Authorities.

Dockworkers appear steadfast in their resistance to port automation.

Most shippers believe the strike is inevitable, a logistics company executive told The Post.

Shipping carriers have been preparing for the potential strike, sending extra goods to the US so companies can stockpile.

In its December newsletter, Allport Cargo Services USA, a supply chain and logistics provider, warned that importers and exporters should expect a strike starting January 15, unless the government intervenes.

The strike would cost between US$5 billion and $10 billion per day, according to the newsletter.

If dockworkers walk off the job again, container ships in New York and New Jersey will remain unloaded and pile up into a backlog, as the containers on these ships could not be sent back to China for more products.

Already, there has been a large increase in goods shipped to the West Coast in preparation for a strike, the exec said.

The ILA's three-day strike in October ended in a tentative deal with ocean carriers and terminal operators for wage hikes but left the issue of automation unresolved.

The union said employers "continued pushing automation and semi-automation language in their master contract proposals that will eliminate ILA jobs."

ILA President Harold Daggett has said he won't accept a contract that allows for automation of any kind.

President-elect Donald Trump has supported the dockworkers in their contract negotiations.

"I've studied automation and know just about everything there is to know about it," Mr Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. "The amount of money saved is nowhere near the distress, hurt, and harm it causes for American Workers, in this case, our Longshoremen."