Here's How The Auto Industry Will Be Impacted By The Baltimore Bridge Collapse [Update]

The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the Baltimore Harbor is already posing a massive disruption to the automotive industry. The port handles imports, exports and parts shipments for major automakers like Audi, Bentley, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Jaguar-Land Rover, Lamborghini, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Stellantis, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo — all of which will more likely than not see major supply chain issues.

Baltimore Port’s private and public terminals handled 847,158 vehicles in 2023, according to Automotive News. Some automakers seem to be more impacted than others. Volkswagen said its operations were largely unaffected because of the location of its facilities. Meanwhile, Ford’s CFO told Bloomberg that the bridge collapse is “going to have an impact.”

“We do not anticipate any impact on vessel operations but there may be trucking delays as traffic will be rerouted in the area,” a spokesperson for Volkswagen told AutoNews.

BMW had a similar response to Bloomberg, saying it doesn’t expect the bridge collapse to have “any immediate impact on our business,” other than traffic issues.

Here’s how other, more strongly impacted automakers are dealing with the ramifications of the bridge collapse, from Bloomberg: