In the early morning hours of Tuesday, March 26, the cargo ship MV Dali collided with a support on the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, causing the bridge to collapse.
The Singapore-flagged vessel reportedly lost power before the collision and was unable to maneuver.
While rescue and recovery will take time, cleaning and repairing the Patapsco River and shipping lanes will take even longer, straining supply lines through the Port of Baltimore.
Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soybean Transport Coalition, said the port is not as important for importing and exporting grain as the Mississippi River or the New Orleans hub, but it is an important port for farm equipment, fertilizer, and much more. states. Agriculture related products.
Steenhoek speaks with RealAgriculture’s Lyndsey Smith. The story continues after her interview.
Still, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Steenhoek said large amounts of grain are moving through the port. 2020 statistics It shows that the Port of Baltimore exported 142,152 tons of soybeans via containers. No soybean exports were reported by bulk vessels. The port imported 172,228 tons of soybeans via containers and 34,185 tons by bulk vessel. In contrast, the Mississippi Gulf Coast region, the leading export region for soybeans, accounted for 35.4 million tons of soybean exports on a bulk basis.
The top five agricultural products handled at the Port of Baltimore (combined imports and exports) are sugar, soybeans, grains (including corn and wheat), coffee, and groceries.
The Port of Baltimore is very important to the automotive industry as a large amount of automobile trade passes through this port. The American Trucking Associations (ATA) estimates that the bridge carries about 4,900 trucks per day, transporting an average of $28 billion worth of goods annually. ATA says rerouting these goods has direct costs to shippers and consumers.
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