The Baltimore bridge collapse will have a serious impact on supply chains, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Tuesday.
"There is no question that this will be a major and protracted impact to supply chains. It's too soon to offer estimates on what it will take to clear the channel and reopen the port," Buttigieg said during a news conference.
Some background: Baltimore is the ninth biggest US port for international cargo. According to the Maryland state government, the port supports 15,330 direct jobs and 139,180 jobs in related services.
Until the channel is reopened, ships will likely already be changing course for other East Coast ports.
The DALI, the ship that hit the bridge and caused the collapse, was the only container vessel in the port at the time of the collision – but seven container vessels had been scheduled to arrive Through Saturday, said Judah Levine, a researcher at logistics firm Freightos.
CNN's Chris Isidore and Hanna Ziady contributed to this report.
This post was updated with more background on the post.