Irish exporters and hauliers have warned jobs are being put at risk by the dispute at Irish Ferries.
The grounding of four Irish Ferries ships - the Ulysses, the Isle of Inishmore,the MV Normandyand the Jonathan Swift- has cut ferry capacity into the Republic by a third.
The Irish Exporters' Association (IEA) said the Irish manufacturing industry may be forced to start cutting jobs before Christmas unless a resolution can be found.
IEA chief executive John Whelan said this morning the loss of inward freight will start to run down some of the manufacturing facilities, depending on what buffer stock they had in place.
"It will probably run for about two weeks and the backlog situation will have become quite extensive at that stage," he told RTÉ Radio this morning. "Unless other operators come into the Irish Sea, we will start seeing orders being lost at a fairly substantial rate and it wouldn't be long before job cutbacks will then be necessary."
Mr Whelan noted the Irish manufacturing sector had lost 30,000 jobs in the past two years.
"These companies are trying to hang on to markets. They are in a position where they will not be able to meet the sales demand and there are other competitors who are just waiting for the opportunity," Mr Whelan said.
The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) also warned that the dispute posed a huge threat to the Irish economy.
"The continuing dispute is now having a serious impact on the haulage sector and a severe impact on exporters at a critical time of year," IRHA spokesman Jimmy Quinn said. "The current situation cannot be allowed continue as it is now having disastrous effects on our industry and now our country".
