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The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse has dealt yet another financial blow to the supply chain—with two Class I railroads already feeling the brunt of millions of lost sales.
CSX and Norfolk Southern, the two major North American rail companies that provide service to the Port of Baltimore, are expected to see at least $25 million per month in negative revenue impacts related to the March 26 incident.
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CSX is estimating a net revenue headwind of $25 million to $30 million for each month the port remains closed, said chief commercial officer Kevin Boone in an April 17 earnings call.
And Norfolk Southern, which is currently undergoing a proxy fight, expects a similar $25 million to $35 million hit to monthly sales, chief financial officer Mike George told investors and analysts Wednesday.
Both companies attributed the impacts to pressure in their export coal businesses and have had to divert a portion of their overall Baltimore volumes elsewhere. And both railroads pivoted to mitigate supply chain disruptions in the wake of the collapse by launching new dedicated intermodal service lines to facilitate the flow of freight between Baltimore and New York.
Boone highlighted CSX’s ability “to react quickly and provide solutions for our customers was highlighted by our efforts in Baltimore, where we rapidly stood up an alternative solution to meet the intermodal needs of the community.”
“We are diligently working with our customers to provide alternate supply chain solutions, and the increased network fluidity is providing the capacity necessary to execute on those solutions,” said Norfolk Southern chief marketing officer Ed Elkins in the earnings call.
As the cleanup efforts at the site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse continue, a fourth temporary channel officially opened Thursday, and will stay open until either Monday or Tuesday depending on weather.
Two ships have thus far passed through the new 35-foot channel, with the Panama-flagged Balsa 94 bulk carrier headed for St. John, Canada after passing through Thursday morning.
Two tugboats guided the Balsa 94 through the channel, one in front and one behind. It passed slowly by the wreckage of the bridge and the Dali, the 985-foot container ship that caused the collapse when it slammed into one of the bridge’s support columns after losing power.