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Baltimore bridge collapse will have huge impact on US supply chains – Russia today Posting in CHAT: Russia I woke up early Tuesday morning to find that the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore had collapsed. We are told that it was a tragic "accident" and that there is no evidence that any foul play took place. Hope it's true. But no matter what caused it, this tragedy will have a huge impact on American supply chains. And of course, this comes at a very bad time, as Houthi missile attacks in the Red Sea and low water levels in the Panama Canal have recently put enormous strain on global supply chains. The Port of Baltimore appears to be "out of service indefinitely," according to Bloomberg... The Port of Baltimore, the largest import and export center for passenger cars and light trucks in the United States, appears to be down. indefinitely The resulting bottleneck could speed up the flow of goods to West Coast ports. Another important question is what other ports have spare capacity to handle Ro-Ro ships with cars if Baltimore is closed for an extended period. This is truly a big deal because more than 750,000 vehicles passed through this port last year alone... The port is the busiest in the United States for vehicles, with more than 750,000 vehicles expected to be handled by it in 2023, according to the Maryland Port Authority. It is also the largest US port for shipping agricultural and construction equipment, as well as agricultural products. In addition, a number of well-known retailers rely heavily on the Port of Baltimore... Retail chains such as Home Depot, Bob's Furniture, IKEA, and Amazon are just a few of the companies that use the port to import goods. Other important imports include sugar and gypsum. "This will impact business up and down the east coast until we know how quickly" the port can reopen, said Richard Meade, editor-in-chief of shipping magazine Lloyd's List. According to Meade, the ships had already been sent to New York and Virginia on Tuesday. “There will be dozens of sabotages next week and hundreds in the coming months until Baltimore is locked down.” This is not the end of the world, and cargo can certainly be redirected to other ports. But we're talking about the 11th largest port in the entire country, so it's sure to be a big hit... More than 52 million tons of foreign cargo with an estimated value of $80 billion has left the country, according to Maryland's governor. port last year. . Wes Moore. Baltimore, the nation's 11th-largest port, handled an average of 207 shipping vessels a month last year, according to Lloyd's List. Moreover, rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge will take a very long time. As Lara Logan noted, this section of I-695 was “the second busiest strategic highway in the country for hazardous materials.” 4-5 years - exactly as long as they say it will take for restoration. The bridge was built specifically to transport hazardous materials - fuel, diesel, propane, nitrogen, flammable materials, chemicals and oversized cargo that cannot fit in the tunnels - a supply chain that is now crippled. One expert predicts that it will take more than two years to rebuild the bridge... Although business is growing quickly and there will be distractions, in the long term the bridge will have to be dramatically redesigned and rebuilt, which will take years. "It will take more than two years," Lloyd's List's Meade said. “This infrastructure project will cause significant disruption and expense. In 1977, the bridge cost $60 million. Given inflation and the rapid pace of reconstruction and construction, the acquisition fee will increase. This will be a very expensive project." I would be shocked if it happened so quickly. Let's get a look. Either way, we're talking about a multifaceted crisis that will impact US supply chains for the foreseeable future. At a press conference after the bridge collapse, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg openly admitted that we are seeing “serious and long-term impacts on supply chains”... “There is no doubt that this will have severe and long-lasting impacts on supply chains.” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg made the announcement during a press conference Tuesday afternoon in Baltimore. I think this is the first time I've agreed with Pete Buttigieg on something. Unfortunately, this is just the beginning. US supply chains will face additional challenges in the coming months. So if you are planning to buy something, I would do it now. Before I end this article, I would like to mention one more thing. Global cocoa supplies are becoming increasingly tight, with the price of cocoa jumping above $10,000 a tonne for the first time on Tuesday... Cocoa prices hit a record high on Tuesday as supply constraints pushed up fuel prices. Futures for May delivery rose 3.9% to $10,030 a tonne, marking the first time the commodity price topped $10,000. Cocoa prices are up nearly 138% this year. Difficult weather conditions and disease have affected production in West Africa, where about 70% of the world's cocoa is produced. The two largest producers, Ivory Coast and Ghana, have recently been hit by a combination of heavy rains, dry heat and disease. In January the price was less than half that price. If you love chocolate, stock up on it while you still can. Of course, the same can be said about countless other things. Remember the supply chain problems we faced a few years ago? Well, what will eventually happen will outshine all of that. Many people use the term "black swan event" to describe the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, but the truth is that we are entering a time when one black swan will follow another. So prepare while you still can, because the coming months and years will be extremely chaotic. Mike1975http://themostimportantnews.comhttps://aftershock.news Source link Source link