Autos firms say they expect limited impact from Baltimore port closure

The collapse of the Baltimore Bridge on Tuesday prompted automakers to evaluate operations following the closure of the nation’s busiest auto port. Many expect no major disruptions so far.

It was a dramatic scene after a cargo ship hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the early hours of Tuesday morning, causing the bridge to sink almost immediately into the water.The six people who have been working on the bridge are Presumed dead Rescuers were unable to find them Wednesday.

The Port of Baltimore, the 11th largest port in the United States and the busiest car and light truck port, is closed until further notice. Logistics companies immediately began scrambling to reroute import and export connections to other East Coast ports.

Mercedes Benz Baltimore is one of the German company’s four distribution centers in the United States, but other ports of entry such as Brunswick, Georgia, will help ease import pressures, U.S. Chief Executive Dimitris Psillakis told CNBC on Tuesday.

“It’s too early to see the impact, the situation is still evolving and we will do our best to make sure we find a way to supply vehicles in the market, but it’s too early to tell,” Psirakis said.

Volkswagen Group of America is a subsidiary of Germany’s Volkswagen Group VolkswagenIt said it does not expect an impact on vessel operations because its facility is located on the waterfront side of the bridge, but trucking delays may occur due to diversion of traffic in the area.

“Last year, we received, processed and shipped approximately 100,000 vehicles through Baltimore for Volkswagen, Audi, Lamborghini and Bentley brand dealers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic United States,” the company said in a statement.

Sweden’s Volvo Group said it did not expect a major impact but was inspecting its U.S. production facilities.

American company General Motors and Fordand Japanese toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi All said they are assessing the situation and may have to shift operations, but they don’t expect major disruptions.

“While Baltimore is not a major port for our North American operations, there will be some impact, primarily on automotive exports. At this time, we do not anticipate major disruptions, but we are closely evaluating the situation to determine long-term impacts and countermeasures,” Toyota said. explain.

According to the Maryland Governor’s Office, the Port of Baltimore handled 847,158 cars and light trucks last year.

It now looks possible to divert various cargoes to other ports, such as those in New York and New Jersey, Norfolk, Georgia and South Carolina, which would add to journey times.

The incident has once again dealt a blow to the global shipping industry, while volatility continues due to attacks on ships crossing the Red Sea en route to the Suez Canal.

Christian Roeloffs, CEO of logistics platform Container xChange, said the Port of Baltimore is “an important gateway for specialized cargo and bulk unloading and is a critical link in many supply chains.”

“Delays in the shipment of goods could lead to inventory shortages, impacting businesses that rely on timely delivery, such as the automotive industry, which requires components from around the world,” Roloffs added.

—CNBC’s Lori Ann LaRocco contributed to this article