Freight rates rise as companies plan for costly US port strike

US retailers, automakers and other businesses face ballooning freight rates as they make contingency plans for a strike that threatens to close nearly three dozen ports next week. 

The International Longshoremen’s Association, which represents 25,000 dockworkers at ports between Maine and Texas, said it planned to walk off the job early Tuesday unless port operators agreed to substantially raise their wages and limit automation.