Posted on April 15, 2024
Two weeks after the Dali struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, causing its collapse and the death of six people working on the bridge at the time, there has been no significant port congestion on the US East Coast according to freight platform Freightos.
Recovery efforts have taken another step this week, with some containers being lifted off the stricken vessel, and three temporary shallow channels for barges are now active and giving limited port access.
As expected, traffic destined for Baltimore has been diverted to other East Coast ports, with Norfolk, VA and New York/New Jersey taking the majority of diverted cargo.
Railroads have extended operations between these ports and Baltimore to assist shipping companies and their customers to move containers to their destinations.
Crucially, there has been no major congestion at the ports taking the diverted ships, and according to Freightos’ chief analyst Judah Levine, this is reflected in the decreasing ocean freight rates to the US East Coast.
