How does Baltimore bridge collapse impact East Coast supply chain?
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — While the City of Baltimore continues to recover from the devastating bridge collapse, concerns are growing over its potentially widespread impact on the U.S. supply chain.
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“It’s such a busy, busy bridge, so it was very heartbreaking,” Charlotte truck driver and CEO of the founder of R&K Training Academy Clarissa Rankin said.
Out of the estimated 11.5 million vehicles that cross Francis Scott Key Bridge yearly, Rankin and her big rig were one of them.
About once a month, she hit the road from Charlotte, carrying cargo straight through Baltimore to states up north.
After a cargo ship hit and destroyed the bridge early Tuesday morning, that route is no longer an option.
“It can slow down a lot of things that we are providing to normal everyday items. So, it’s a big impact,” Ranking said.
The bridge collapse is not only impacting a major interstate and trucking corridor. Baltimore’s major shipping hub is now out of commission for what could be months.
“First of all, this is an unprecedented situation we have never seen anything like it,” CEO of Vespucci Maritime Lars Jensen said.
Jensen, a container shipping expert, says while he does not expect the shutdown to slow down the global supply chain, the regional impact could be devastating.
“What you will see is the immediate shock right now is a major impact on customers that were supposed to use Baltimore for either imports or exports,” Jensen said.
The Port of Baltimore is considered the business port in the U.S. for car shipments, handling imports for major automakers like Nissan, General Motors, and Ford Motor.
“We will have to divert parts to other ports along the East Coast or elsewhere in the country and will likely lengthen the supply chain a bit,” Ford Motor Chief Financial Officer John Lawler said in an interview with Bloomberg News.
The port and bridge shutdown is expected to lengthen the supply chain and could impact prices for everyday goods.
“People don’t understand how much this transportation world can impact your everyday life,” Rankin said.
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