Measuring The Economic Impact Of Baltimore's Port Closure

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🗓️ 2 April 2024

⏱️ 11 minutes

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Summary

One week after a massive container ship crashed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse, a massive effort is underway to clear the wreckage. But it's still unclear how long the cleanup will take.

Meanwhile, with much of the Port of Baltimore shut down, the economic impact is being felt locally, regionally and in the broad economy.

Host Mary Louise Kelly gets the latest from NPR's Laurel Wamsley, on the ground in Baltimore, and Camila Domonoske, who covers the auto industry for NPR. Baltimore is a major national hub for the import and export of vehicles.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	It's been one week since a massive container ship crashed into one of the supports of the Francis
0:06.6	Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, causing the bridge to fall into the Patapsko River. The bodies of four people presumed dead in the collapse are still missing.
0:16.4	These families are living in nightmare. In a press conference Monday,
0:20.1	Maryland Governor Wes Moore said that giving the victim's
0:23.8	family's closure is still his first priority.
0:27.0	The second, we need to clear the channel and open the vessel to
0:30.6	traffic for the port.
0:32.0	That will not be easy though, or quick.
0:35.0	Tons and tons of twisted metal, concrete, and other debris will have to be cleared.
0:40.0	And even as the massive cleanup operation gets going, there is a growing sense of urgency in Baltimore and beyond.
0:47.0	The impact to the state of Maryland's economy, just with that shipping channel being closed is $191 million a day.
0:53.6	That is Scott Cowan,
0:55.2	president of International Longshoremen's Association Local 333
1:00.1	in Baltimore.
1:01.1	He represents the hundreds of workers who depend on the port to make a living,
1:05.3	loading cargo, operating cranes, doing the maintenance work.
1:09.0	Quite a few are out of work right now, yes.
1:11.4	Consider this, the economic impact of the Baltimore Bridge
1:14.9	collapse starts at the port itself, but it quickly ripples out to the
1:19.2	surrounding city, state, and region. So how quickly can that channel be cleared and what's at stake for the region and the broader economy? From NPR, I'm Mary Louise Kelly.
1:37.0	We have perverted our Constitution, perverted it with regard to a welfare clause that doesn't exist.
1:47.0	The question was, is he too dangerous? Is he too crazy?
	...

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