The collapse of the highway bridge in the port of the US city of Baltimore has different effects on German car manufacturers. A Porsche spokesman said they were driving to the port of Baltimore and could continue to do so without any disruptions. BMW said the bridge collapse had no impact on the supply of materials to the BMW Spartanburg plant. “The port is not used for shipping finished vehicles from the USA.” The company uses it to import vehicles.
Several manufacturers have terminals through which they load vehicles; Some companies like BMW are lucky that their terminal is in front of the accident site and is therefore still accessible. “Since the terminal is located at the harbor entrance (in front of the bridge), it can still be accessed,” said BMW. According to a report in the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”, the Mercedes-Benz terminal is located behind the bridge and is now cut off from shipping traffic.
A Mercedes-Benz spokesman said Thursday that Baltimore will be used for car imports alongside several other U.S. ports, including Brunswick, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina. “We are in close contact with our logistics service providers and are continually monitoring the situation. Together with our transport partners, we are checking and adapting our delivery routes.” The parts supply at the Tuscaloosa (Alabama) plant was not affected by the incident. The Mercedes-Benz spokesman emphasized: “The incident has no impact on vehicle exports from the USA.”
The approximately 290 meter long container ship “Dali” rammed a support pillar of the four-lane Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday night, causing the more than 2.5 kilometer long structure to collapse. After the accident, ships are blocked from access to one of the most important ports on the American east coast. Several media outlets had previously reported on the consequences for car manufacturers, including “Stuttgarter Zeitung” and “Stuttgarter Nachrichten”.
