Shock waves from the collapse of a crucial highway bridge in Baltimore are sure to be felt in Central Pennsylvania, where highway signs yesterday warned of road closures to the south.
- The Francis Scott Key Bridge — which carried the Baltimore beltway over the Patapsco River near the Chesapeake Bay — was struck early in the morning on March 26 by a cargo ship before falling into the water.
- News reports indicate eight people were on the bridge at the time.
- First responders rescued two, while six others were presumed dead as of yesterday evening, according to The Washington Post. They were all believed to be construction workers who were repairing potholes at the time of the accident.
- “We want to express our deepest thoughts to the individuals and families involved in this morning’s tragic accident,” the Port of Baltimore said in a statement yesterday, noting that it was suspending ship traffic in and out of the port until further notice. Trucks were continuing to move.
What’s the impact: Much depends on how long it takes to clear and replace the fallen bridge, which is blocking access to the Baltimore port.
- But supply chains are likely to feel the effects for a significant period, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said at a news conference yesterday, according to CNN.
- While it is not as large as ports in New York and Norfolk, Virginia, the Baltimore hub is a major destination for cars and farm equipment, as well as coal, liquefied natural gas and agricultural commodities, according to logistics experts.
- It is not a major container port, said Steve Tracey, executive director of the Center for Supply Chain Research in the Penn State Smeal College of Business.
- “The impact on goods in and out of Central Pennsylvania will depend on what commodity that is,” he said.
What’s happening: For now, ships are being diverted to other ports.
- That means anyone expecting goods to arrive in or depart from Baltimore will have to make new arrangements, according to Amar Ramudhin, a former logistics exec and current chair of the doctoral program in information systems engineering and management at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology.
- Those changes could lead to delays and higher costs, at least in the short term, he said.
- Auto makers, for example, were warning yesterday that car shipments would be delayed, according to Christy Del Rio, a spokesperson for Allentown-based Ciocca Automotive, which recently bought York-based Apple Automotive.
- The Philadelphia port can handle cars but does less than a third of Baltimore’s volume, which was nearly 850,000 vehicles last year.
- Philadelphia handled about 250,000, according to a spokesperson for that city’s port.
- Major automakers announced plans to reroute vehicles that had been headed to Baltimore, according to Reuters.
What’s next: President Joe Biden promised that the federal government will pay to rebuild the bridge, named for the Maryland native who wrote the words to “The Star Spangled Banner.”
- Nonetheless, reconstruction may not be the only cost.
- The Baltimore port will not easily bounce back from the loss of business, however temporary, Ramudhin said. “That ecosystem is definitely going to suffer.”
- Once shippers have made other arrangements, it will take time before they return to Baltimore.
- “It’s not something you can turn on and off,” Ramudhin said.
