Bal­ti­more bridge col­lapse will have ‘rip­ple effect’ on econ­o­my and glob­al sup­ply chain

The ear­ly-morn­ing cat­a­stroph­ic col­lapse of the Fran­cis Scott Key Bridge in Bal­ti­more, Mary­land, has brought one of the most impor­tant trade hubs in the Unit­ed States to a halt — indef­i­nite­ly. 
A 948-foot con­tain­er ship called the Dali hit a sup­port col­umn on the Bal­ti­more bridge around 1:30 a.m. Tues­day, caus­ing it to fall and send­ing at least sev­en cars plung­ing into the Pat­ap­sco Riv­er. The Dali had been head­ed to Sri Lan­ka and was fly­ing under a Sin­ga­pore flag. 

A car­go ship is stuck under part of the struc­ture of the Fran­cis Scott Key Bridge after the ship hit the bridge on Tues­day, March 26, 2024, in Bal­ti­more, Mary­land. (AP Photo/Steve Hel­ber)

The 1.6‑mile bridge’s col­lapse will undoubt­ed­ly have a pro­found eco­nom­ic effect both local­ly and glob­al­ly. Around the world, about 40 ships, includ­ing 34 car­go ves­sels, were head­ed for Bal­ti­more, accord­ing to Marine­Traf­fic, which tracks ships. 
The Port of Bal­ti­more tops the U.S. list for the vol­ume of auto­mo­biles and light trucks it han­dles, as well as for ves­sels that car­ry wheeled car­go, such as con­struc­tion machin­ery and farm equip­ment, Gov. Wes Moore (D‑MD) boast­ed last month. The Mary­land Depart­ment of Trans­porta­tion Port Admin­is­tra­tion called “car­go” the “lifeblood of the Port of Bal­ti­more.” 
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