Several major automakers said Tuesday they are working to reroute car shipments due to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
The Port of Baltimore plays a major role in vehicle shipping and handled more than 750,000 cars and trucks in 2023, according to the Maryland Ports Authority. It ranks first in the United States for the volume of cars and light trucks it moves and for vessels that carry wheeled cargo, including farm and construction machinery, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said in a statement last month.
Pete Buttigieg, the US transportation secretary, said the rerouting would affect the national supply chain. “The road to normalcy will not be easy,” he said. “It won’t be quick and it won’t be cheap.”
Among the automakers using the port are General Motors, Ford Motor, Stellantis, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
Some automakers said they planned to divert vehicle imports and exports to other East Coast ports while they assessed how the collapse would affect their logistics.
“We are beginning discussions with our various transportation providers regarding contingency plans to ensure an uninterrupted flow of vehicles to our customers and will continue to closely monitor this situation,” Stellantis, which owns Chrysler, Dodge, said in a statement. , Jeep and Ram.
GM said it expects the disaster to have “minimal impact” on its operations. It also seeks to transport vehicles to other ports. Toyota Motor said it did not expect a “significant disruption” but some of its exports could be affected. Volkswagen said it did not expect to be affected by the collapse because its Port of Baltimore reception facility is on the east side of the bridge, which is still accessible to ships.
Baltimore is important for auto imports in part because it is closer to the Midwest than other East Coast ports. It is also equipped to handle specialized vessels, known as roll on, roll off ships, which are widely used to transport vehicles overseas. Such ships allow vehicles to move on board through one end of the ship to the port of departure and from the other end of the ship to their port of destination.
One port that automakers could look to divert cars to is the Port of Brunswick in Georgia. This port already handles roll on, roll off vessels and is in the middle of a major expansion project. Georgia officials have predicted that Brunswick will overtake Baltimore in vehicle traffic as early as 2026.
The port in Charleston, SC also handles many imported and exported automobiles.
“We are in close contact with our logistics service providers and are constantly monitoring the situation,” Mercedes-Benz said in a statement. “We have many options available in our flexible supply chain network.”
