09 Apr Port of Baltimore closed indefinitely
The catastrophic ship collision and collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge has indefinitely blocked access in and out of the Port of Baltimore.
A major hub for products such as cars, forest products, farm equipment and sugar, this incident will disrupt a key trade lane and potentially add further stress to an already stretched supply chain.
Whilst the Port of Baltimore is not a vital US port as it ranks 17th in total tonnage, and there are larger alternative East Coast ports such as New York, Charleston, Savannah, and Virginia, this collapse comes at a time other international routes are under pressure, such as Suez and Panama Canals.
Whilst the overall global supply chain is resilient, each problem or additional complication that occurs anywhere along the chain does create the need for adaptation or diversion and could result in additional costs.
With regards to the Port of Baltimore, it’s possible that being out of commission for a while might have a long-term effect on the port’s use and traffic, with former customers preferring to stick to the diversions they develop during its closure, inevitably having a detrimental impact on the 15,000 local jobs sustained by the Port of Baltimore itself.
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