Milling & Baking News - April 2, 2024 - 10

TUES | 04 02 2024
Bridge collapse leads to port
shutdown, halting sugar inflow
BALTIMORE - All waterway vessel traffic
was suspended indefinitely at the key
US port of Baltimore after a container ship
hit the 1.6-mile-long, four-lane Francis
Scott Key Bridge over the Patapsco River
around 1:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on
March 26, causing the bridge to collapse.
" The Port of Baltimore is still open for
truck transactions, " the Maryland Transportation
Authority said. " Vessel (waterway)
traffic into and out of the Port of Baltimore
is suspended until further notice. "
Maryland Governor Wes Moore
declared a state of emergency because of
the accident. Baltimore Mayor Brandon
Scott also declared a state of emergency
for the city. Six construction workers on
the bridge at the time of the accident were
" The Baltimore refinery has six to eight
weeks of raw sugar supply on hand with
a ship currently discharging at the dock
and another that finished unloading on
Monday, " ASR Group said. " Our network
of production facilities and warehouses
across the United States all currently have
healthy inventories of finished products
that can be utilized if necessary.
The refinery is one of the largest in the
United States, producing about 6 million
lbs of refined sugar per day (roughly
885,000 tons annually) under the Domino
brand, equal to about 6% of total US sugar
supply, all from imported sugar that
comes into the Port of Baltimore. The company
is the largest bulk importer in the
port. Domino's Baltimore sugar refinery
Longer term, there could be intermittent
disruptions as the bridge is rebuilt, which
would take several years.
A total of 622,245 tonnes of all types of
sugar entered the United States through
the Port of Baltimore in 2023, according
to US Census Bureau Trade Data and US
Customs District Data, as provided by the
US Department of Agriculture's Foreign
Agricultural Service. Imports ranged
from 460,496 tonnes to 663,627 tonnes
between 2019 and 2022. According to
USDA data, 9,129 tonnes of sugar from
Mexico entered the United States through
the port in January (same as the total for
October-January) and 25,428 tonnes of
high-tier imports from October through
February. In 2022-23 (October-September),
105,976 tonnes of sugar from Mexico
entered through Baltimore.
Baltimore is the largest US port for
handling the import and export of automobiles
and light trucks, with estimates
ranging from 750,000 to 850,000 vehicles
in 2023. It is the second busiest US port for
coal exports along with smaller amounts
of metals, minerals and other products.
Top agricultural exports from Baltimore
include meat, grocery items, soybeans,
poultry, grain products (including
flour), animal feed and other products.
Top imports include sugar, coffee, soybeans,
beer and ale, molasses and others.
The 948-foot-long cargo ship DALI operunaccounted
for and presumed dead the
morning of March 27 as rescue efforts
turned to recovery efforts. Two workers
were rescued on March 26.
The Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore
is ranked as the 17th to 20th largest
US port over the past few years, depending
on the metric used. Data from IHSMarkit/
PIERS showed 86% of exports were containerized
and 14% bulk as of 2017, with imports
split about 50%-50% between containers
and bulk, of which sugar was by far the
largest share of dry imports.
The port is a key location for the import
of sugar used by the ASR Group's Domino
Sugar refinery located in the inner port
in Baltimore. ASR Group said it did not
expect an impact on sugar production at
the plant in the short term.
10
MILLING & BAKING NEWS
opened in 1922. American Sugar Refining,
Inc. (ASR) acquired Domino Sugar in 2001.
ASR was rebranded ASR Group in 2013.
Logistics experts said much of the vessel
traffic from Baltimore could be shifted to
other East Coast ports, including New York/
New Jersey, Norfolk, Va., and Philadelphia.
Imports then would have to be transported
by truck or train to their final destinations,
which would add costs and create delays.
Trade sources said the impact on sugar
and other import/export activity depends
on how long the port will be shut down,
which depends on how long it takes to
remove debris from the collapsed bridge.
Most agreed there would be a disruption
to trade activity, even if not significant to
sugar, with the greatest impact in the Baltimore
region and along the US East Coast.
ated by Singaporean company Synergy
Group was chartered by Danish shipping
giant Maersk loaded with containers and
was on course for Colombo, Sri Lanka,
according to various reports. Indications
were the vessel lost propulsion, and the
crew lost control as it was attempting to
depart from the port. The crew notified
the Maryland Department of Transportation
about the situation and that a
collision with the bridge was possible.
Most auto traffic on the bridge had been
stopped prior to the accident. None of
the 22 crew members were said to have
been injured. There was no indication the
accident was intentional or was an act of
terrorism based on current information,
according to the Baltimore office of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation. About
35,000 vehicles use the bridge daily,
according to state data. MBN
bakingbusiness.com
©RICKRAY - STOCK.ADOBE.COM
http://www.bakingbusiness.com
Milling & Baking News - April 2, 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Milling & Baking News - April 2, 2024
