By Simona Stan
The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024, has put a spotlight on the Port of Baltimore, one of the busiest harbors in the U.S., which paused shipping and immediately halted all vessel traffic in and out.
The port remained open to trucks following the incident, but the loss of maritime traffic is expected to cost US$9 million a day. The overall economic toll is likely to be higher as billions of dollars of goods are rerouted amid the prospect of supply chains being snarled for months. It will also mean a loss of tax revenue for the city and state.
The Conversation asked Simona Stan, a supply chain and logistics expert at the University of Montana, to explain the short- and long-term impacts of the crash on supply chains.
How important is the Port of Baltimore?
The Port of Baltimore is the ninth largest U.S. port by overall trade volume. In 2023 alone, it moved around 50 million tons of goods between the U.S. and other countries, much of it in large shipping containers, like those stacked on the ship that rammed into the bridge.
Although it’s smaller than other ports on the East Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico, it still plays a critical role in processing U.S. international trade traffic. That’s especially true for some products, such as automobiles, heavy machinery and coal. It also handles a large share of U.S. sugar imports.
What’s the short-term impact of its closure on supply chains?
The immediate impact will be felt by the 15,000 or so workers in the port and about 140,000 others who depend on it. It doesn’t mean they’ll be laid off, but drastically less traffic would mean less work to go around.
Companies and consumers should expect some delays for packages that would have otherwise been processed by the port. How long depends on how much time it takes for ships to be rerouted to other terminals, but it should only add a matter of days or up to a week or two.
Baltimore accounts for only 4% of overall East Coast trade, so it shouldn’t have a major impact. Dealers will probably experience some delays receiving imported cars and light trucks, but things should be resolved within days or weeks.
What’s the long-term impact?
The problem is that supply chains have been under stress from multiple directions lately.
Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Panama Canal bottlenecks have lengthened delivery times and increased costs for companies that rely on East Coast ports.
The pause in maritime traffic at the Port of Baltimore adds one more point of pressure for trade in the region. This may lead more shippers that have a choice to send more freight through West Coast ports, which have not suffered much from the Red Sea attacks and Panama problems.
This could also mean more business for trucking and rail companies if it means they have to transport more goods from the West to East Coast.
How does this supply chain shock compare with other recent ones?
From a supply chain perspective, this was a freak accident. It’s dramatic, it’s graphic, and it forces people to pay attention to the issue.
But unlike the Red Sea attacks or the impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, which have led to lingering supply chain problems, fallout from the bridge collapse will be temporary.
That said, we’ll likely see public pressure on companies to try to prevent such a thing from happening again – even though the risk of ships striking bridges is very low.
Simona Stan is Professor of Marketing at the University of Montana.
Ray W. says
NPR has already published an article delving into conspiracy theories that the collision was intentional, despite a dearth of evidence to support the claims.
NPR also reported Maria Bartiromo commented on Fox Business that the “collapse was somehow connected to problems at the border.”
And it reported that Max Schlapp, chair of the American Conservative Union, quickly suggested that the collision resulted from “drug addled” persons affected by Covid shutdowns and related issues.
Do these attempts to place blame where blame does not yet appear to be appropriate reflect the unbounded fears that Dan Gilbert speaks of in the video clip attached to today’s editorial cartoon column?
Hippy says
Nice fear mongering article.
Bill C says
It’s Joe Biden’s fault! Joe Biden is to blame. That’s what we’ll soon be hearing from the cabal of conspiracy theorists at Fox Newz.
Ray W. says
Perhaps this will help you better understand the purpose of the article.
The Cambridge English Dictionary defines “fear mongering” as: “the action of intentionally trying to make people afraid of something when this is not necessary or reasonable.”
Pogo says
@Reading the first 2 comments, one finds…
…the constructive, and thoughtful lucidity of Ray W.
And then, here in the 2020s, a few words of banality from the 1950s, posing as the 1960s: a tiny fart — in the great void of outer space.
FWIW, IMO, the main idea — in other words
https://www.google.com/search?q=moral+panic
hippy says
Exactly Pogo..
Typically, a moral panic is perpetuated by the news media, most times engaged by politicians, and can result in increased social control.
Thanks for your support
Pogo says
@Reading the first 2 comments, one finds…
…the constructive, and thoughtful lucidity of Ray W.
And then, here in the 2020s, a few words of banality from the 1950s, posing as the 1960s: a tiny fart — in the great void of outer space.
Updated to correct cheesy sleazy malarkey — and space gas.
FWIW, IMO, the main idea — in other words:
“…A moral panic is a widespread feeling of fear, often an irrational one, that some evil person or thing threatens the values, interests, or well-being of a community or society…”
https://www.google.com/search?q=moral+panic
Additionally:
The main idea refined and improved
https://www.google.com/search?q=Republican+Party+use+of+moral+panic+as+tactic
jake says
Not to worry, Pothole Pete is on the case.
Ray W. says
How many old-time Flagler residents remember when a trailered backhoe with a less-than-completely lowered arm struck an overpass and punched a hole through the overpass roadway? I recollect that the incident received regional press coverage. Undoubtedly, some Flagler businesses experienced significant travel time delays and monetary losses. No one was accused of intentionally damaging the roadway. It was, at most, negligence to fail to fully lower the arm. Yet we live among 330 million or so fellow residents that depend on an efficient distribution network to live and work as best we can. News about such incidents have long been important.
It wasn’t fearmongering then to report on the backhoe incident, nor was any moral panic the goal of the reporters. I don’t recall anyone trying blame it on open borders or illegal drug use, though conspiracists existed at the time; they were just less sophisticated than they are today. It is neither fearmongering nor an invitation to moral panic today to report on a bridge collapse in Baltimore, nor is it wrong to seek an explanation for an expert on the long-term effects of the disruption to a major regional distribution hub. Indeed, it is probably worse to not report on the issue.
Right now, we have a commenter who complains that egg prices are rising again, which is true. One of America’s largest egg producers recently had to slaughter at least a million egg-laying hens and slaughter another number of chicks in order to quell the spread of an outbreak of avian flu. Two years ago, one of the largest outbreaks of avian flu occurred. Tens of millions of chickens were slaughtered. Prices rose to historical highs. The gullible among us resorted to “pestilential” partisan claims to falsely blame the higher prices on one administration’s policies. That was an example of fearmongering and an effort to sow moral panic.
Disinformation and misinformation are preludes to fearmongering and efforts to sow moral panic. Please, hippy, learn the difference. Truth can be the antidote to fearmongering and efforts to sow moral panic.
Pogo says
@Wrong Address — Return To Sender
Greetings, be well,