Ships for cars, heavy gear need new harbor

Manufacturers and shippers are scrambling to figure out where they can load or unload cargo while the main operations of the Port of Baltimore remain shut down due to Tuesday’s deadly collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Supply chain experts say other ports up and down the East Coast are likely to absorb much of Baltimore’s traffic, avoiding a crisis. But not without some longer shipping times and upheaval.

“Ultimately, most trade through Baltimore will find a new home port,” Moody’s Analytics economist Harry Murphy Cruise wrote in a blog post.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg reiterated Wednesday that it was too soon to estimate how long it would take to clear the bridge structure from the 15 meters Patapsco River channel, which leads to the port’s main terminal.

The port’s location makes it a key destination for freight. The Maryland Port Administration says the facility is an overnight drive from two-thirds of the U.S. population, and it’s closer to the Midwest than any other East Coast port.

Here’s a look at the goods that go through the Port of Baltimore and the potential impact of a prolonged port shutdown:

Baltimore is the ninth-busiest port in the nation for international cargo, but it leads U.S. ports in “roll on, roll off” cargo. That means goods with wheels, composed largely of automobiles but including construction and agricultural equipment.

The state of Maryland says the port moved 847,158 automobiles last year. About 70 percent of the wheeled cargo was imported.

The port also handles a large amount of wood, steel, aluminum, home appliances, furniture, sugar and liquefied natural gas. About 20 percent of U.S. coal exports pass through Baltimore, second only to the port in Norfolk, Virginia.

Shippers also use the port for containers, although other ports handle more of them. About 1 million containers went through Baltimore in the past year, about 2.8 percent of the container volume shipped through East Coast ports, according to S&P Global.

In all, the port handled a record 11.7 million tons of cargo last year, the state said.

“For everybody who is buying cars, for everybody who is (buying) farm equipment, we’re the largest port in the country that does that,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said. “So this is not just impacting Maryland.”