Companies react to Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge collapsed in the US port of Baltimore after being struck by a container ship, plunging cars into the river below.

Here is what carmakers and other companies, which use the port, have said about the impact on their operations:

ASR GROUP

The largest sugar company in the United States said it has six to eight weeks of raw sugar stocks at its Baltimore sugar refinery, which is supplied by vessels coming to the Port of Baltimore.

The company added however that it does not expect short-term impacts to its operations in the area.

BMW (BMWG.DE)

A spokesman said in an email to Reuters that the German automaker does not expect any immediate impact other than short term traffic delays.

The company uses the Port of Baltimore to import vehicles, but the automotive terminal is located at the harbor entrance, in front of the bridge, and can still be accessed, the spokesman added.

FORD (F.N)

CFO John Lawler said the collapse of the Baltimore bridge and subsequent shuttering of the port will force the automaker to divert parts to other ports and impact its supply chain.

Ford told Reuters in a statement “where workarounds are necessary in the short term, our team has already secured shipping alternatives.”

GENERAL MOTORS (GM.N)

The American carmaker said it was working on rerouting its vehicle shipments and added that it expected minimal impact from the bridge collapse, according to a Bloomberg report.

HOME DEPOT (HD.N)

A Home Depot spokesperson said the company confirmed that its distribution centers in the Baltimore area were “open and operating”.

MERCEDES BENZ USA (MBGn.DE)

CEO Dimitris Psillakis said in a CNBC interview it is too early to see an impact from the Baltimore bridge collapse in the carmaker’s activities.

VOLKSWAGEN (VOWG_p.DE)

The German carmaker said its port operations in Baltimore were unaffected by the bridge collapse due to the location of its facilities.

“We do not anticipate any impact on vessel operations but there may be trucking delays as traffic will be rerouted in the area.”

VOLVO GROUP (VOLVb.ST)

The Swedish company which makes trucks, construction equipment and engines, said it was looking over its inventory in its U.S. production facilities to see if and when there could be a disturbance in worst-case scenarios, adding it currently expected no huge impact.

“We are currently looking over inventory in our US production facilities to see if and when there might be a disturbance given a worst case scenario (no access to port, no other ports or very limited access to other ports) but don’t foresee a huge impact at this stage,” company spokesperson said.