Following the devastating collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday, the extent of the economic damage is gradually emerging.
And it’s huge.
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The cost of losing a major commercial artery
In addition to the lives lost, the dollar amounts “are also rising as one of the nation’s most critical ports closes and a major interstate highway connection is disrupted.”
This is according to a report from Business Insider.
“Experts told Business Insider that the port alone contributes $15 million to daily economic activity, which will be all but halted ‘until further notice.’”
“This is just the beginning,” Insider added.
The story continued:
“It’s not just the Port of Baltimore that has been compromised,” Anirban Basu, an economist and founder and CEO of the Baltimore-based Sage Policy Group, told BI. “It’s also the railroads, the transportation industry, regional distribution centers, commuters and other segments of the economy.”
Basu said these factors will push daily losses into the tens of millions of dollars until the shipping route reopens.
“The tentacles here are far-reaching,” he added. “And they’re all negative.”
Although it is far from the largest port in the United States, Baltimore is one of the most specialized terminals for automobiles and farm equipment, known as “roll-on/roll-off” cargo, and for some bulk products, such as coal.
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A new bridge in Baltimore will take some time
“Daraius Irani, chief economist at the Regional Economic Studies Institute at Towson University in Maryland, told BI that the port is responsible for about 140,000 jobs, although he does not expect these to be at significant risk, provided operations resume quickly,” Business Insider added. “If it takes 60 or 90 days, then it could have a more deleterious, long-term effect,” he said.”
The Key Bridge opened in 1977 and was vital to travel in the area. An important connection, for citizens and for commerce.
It will take some time before the city can build a replacement bridge.
It remains to be seen what this might mean for the economy. But it doesn’t bode well.
