Dockworkers at East and Gulf Coast ports are on the verge of a strike that could begin Tuesday, raising questions about whether West Coast ports can absorb stalled shipments.

Thousands of dockworkers at more than a dozen ports along the East Coast and Gulf Coasts are poised to walk off the job on Tuesday.

Tens of thousands of longshoremen are likely to go on strike at midnight, shutting down dozens of major ports and choking off deliveries of a range of goods.