DANISH shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk has called on customers to retrieve their loaded containers and return empty one at US East and Gulf Coast ports before January 15, in an effort to mitigate terminal disruptions due to looming strike.

"The conditional agreement on wages is set to expire on January 15. If no agreement is reached by that date, a coast-wide strike on January 16 is possible" Maersk stated in an advisory on its website. "There have been no new developments in the negotiations since our last update."

A strike could disrupt billions of dollars in trade, exacerbate inflationary pressures, and threaten the stability of the existing supply chain.