Thursday, March 28, 2024
Following today’s significant bridge collapse at the Port of Baltimore, concerns are rising about the potential impact on the supply chain.
Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld announced that the port will halt all container activities for an undetermined period, with vessel movements into and out of the port being paused indefinitely. Truck access to the facility remains operational.
“This is a major disaster and will create significant problems on the U.S. East Coast for U.S. importers and exporters,” wrote Lars Jensen, CEO of Vespucci Maritime, on LinkedIn. “The bridge collapse will mean that for the time being it will not be possible to get to the container terminals – or a range of the other port terminals – in Baltimore. This is some 21,000 TEUs per week that now have to be routed through other ports in the region. Additionally, this means the cargo already gated into the Baltimore terminals would have to either wait an unknown period for the sea lane to reopen, or be gated back out and shifted to a different port.”
The Port of Baltimore, while not as large as many other ports, still plays a significant role in cargo movement. In the 2024 report to Congress by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, it was ranked 17th nationwide based on the total tonnage of cargo handled in 2021, with 37 million tons recorded. By 2023, its prominence increased according to the Maryland government’s website, achieving ninth place in both the total dollar value and tonnage of international cargo, handling 52.3 million tons.
In the fourth quarter of last year, it moved 265,000 containers, according to Jensen. That’s compared with 2 million containers moved over the same period by the Port of New York.
Despite its relatively modest scale, the Port of Baltimore holds a leading position in the handling of particular categories of imports and exports. In 2023, it stood out nationally as the primary port for the throughput of automobiles, light trucks, agricultural and construction machinery, along with imported sugar and gypsum. The most significant imports through the port included cars and light trucks, alongside salt, paper and paperboard, gypsum, and various wood products like plywood, veneer, and particleboard. On the export side, the port excelled in shipping coal, liquefied natural gas, wastepaper, ferrous scrap, and automobiles/light trucks, showcasing its diversified operational strengths.
Plywood veneer holds significant importance for the furniture and woodworking sectors. As of January this year, the port reported handling over 62,000 container tons of forest products, marking the highest volume since August 2023.
Among the businesses leveraging the Port of Baltimore for imports, Far East American stands out for its importation of hardwood plywood. The company sources its thin panel plywood from various countries, including Indonesia, China, and Russia, catering to the construction, cabinetry, and large specialty manufacturing industries. The range of products imported through Baltimore encompasses Russian birch as well as raw and prefinished plywood panels from China, illustrating the port’s pivotal role in supporting diverse industry needs.
China Emburg Plywood also utilizes the Port of Baltimore, importing a variety of products into the U.S. market, including standard plywood, film-faced plywood, and melamine boards.
In a notable development in 2020, the Metsä Group, a leading global supplier of forest products, entered into an agreement with the port. This contract involved Metsä leasing nearly 798,000 square feet of warehouse space across two terminals at the port, marking an expansion of over 300,000 square feet—or an increase of more than 60%—from its prior contract established in 2016.
Source- www.furnituretoday.com
Tags: Baltimore bridge, plywood veneer export, wood and panel, woodworking, woodworking and manufacturing, woodworking USA
