NEW YORK, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. ports from Maine to Texas shut down on Tuesday when the union representing about 45,000 dockworkers went on strike for the first time since 1977.

"A lengthy shutdown could raise prices on goods around the country and potentially cause shortages and price increases at big and small retailers alike as the holiday shopping season -- along with a tight presidential election -- approaches," reported The Associated Press (AP) about the development on Tuesday.

"First and foremost, we can expect delays to market. And those delays depend on really what the commodities are and priorities at the ports and how quickly things move," Mark Baxa, president of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, was quoted as saying.

The International Longshoremen's Association is demanding significantly higher wages and a total ban on the automation of cranes, gates and container-moving trucks that are used in the loading or unloading of freight at 36 U.S. ports. Those ports handle roughly half of the nations' cargo from ships. Enditem

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