Austin American-Statesman

Harvey, Irma to slow U.S. growth slightly

- By Christophe­r Rugaber Growth

With businesses disrupted, fuel and chemical refineries out of commission and consumers struggling to restore their lives, Hurricanes Harvey and Irma will likely pack a tough double-whammy for the U.S. economy.

Nearly one-fifth of the nation’s oil refining capacity has been shut down because of Harvey, and fuel production has dropped sharply as a result, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Consumers will also spend less in the immediate aftermath of the storms. Even those ready to make purchases will face closed storefront­s and dark restaurant­s.

Irma will cause tourists to delay — and in many cases never take — trips to Florida’s beaches or Disney World. Chemical refineries have also been closed, reducing the production of plastics.

While the economic toll pales beside the human costs, analysts estimate that the nation’s annualized growth rate will be one-half to one full percentage point slower in the July-September quarter than it would otherwise have been.

But repair work, reconstruc­tion and purchases of replacemen­t cars and other goods should provide an offsetting boost later this year and in early 2018.

“Constructi­on activity will rocket in the affected areas,” predicted Ian Shepherdso­n, chief economist at Pantheon Macroecono­mics. “Households’ spending on building materials, furniture, appliances, and vehicles will all be much higher than otherwise would have been the case.”

Catastroph­ic natural disasters often don’t depress the U.S. economy in the long run.

The destructio­n of property reduces the nation’s total wealth. But all the rebuilding and restoratio­n work tends to stimulate economic growth in the following months.

The rebuilding can take time. After Hurricane Katrina bashed New Orleans in 2005, it took seven months for home building permits in the city to return to their pre-hurricane levels, according to Goldman Sachs.

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