01:25 PM EDT, 03/26/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with the American Trucking Associations' statement in the seventh paragraph and the headline and eighth paragraph with comments from Xcoal Energy & Resources CEO.)

The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday likely will worsen global trade flows, a shipping analyst told Bloomberg.

Emily Stausboll, an analyst with shipping-analytics company Xeneta, said shippers in the Far East and on the US East Coast have already been hurt by dry weather along the Panama Canal and attacks in the Red Sea. Shipping rates have increased by 150%, she said.

The collapse of the Baltimore bridge will exacerbate concerns about shipping, Stausboll was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.

While ships will be temporarily redirected to ports in New York and Virginia, port capacity is limited. How quickly vessels already inbound to Baltimore can be diverted to alternate sites and when containers in Baltimore ports are still in question, she said.

The bridge collapse will also disrupt the automotive supply chain in the US, Bloomberg reported separately.

"It's a large port with a lot of flow through it, so it's going to have an impact," Ford Motor ( F ) Chief Financial Officer John Lawler said Tuesday on Bloomberg TV. "We'll have to divert parts to other ports along the East Coast or elsewhere in the country."

With around 3,600 trucks traversing the bridge in an average day, the collapse "will add significant cost in time, fuel and delays for trucks traveling through the region," a spokesperson for the American Trucking Associations said, Bloomberg reported.

Meanwhile, Xcoal Energy & Resources chief executive Ernie Thrasher told Bloomberg the bridge collapse is going to impact the export of up to 2.5 million tons of coal, primarily going to India.

Exports could be halted for as long as six weeks, with some shipments being diverted to ports elsewhere, Thrasher reportedly said. The CEO added, however, that there was a limit to how much exports could be diverted.

A number of companies that move US coal saw their shares drop following the bridge collapse.

Consol Energy ( CEIX ) shares were down 7.3% in recent Tuesday trading; CSX (CSX) was down 1.5%; Arch Resources ( ARCH ) declined 2.4%; and Peabody Energy ( BTU ) fell 1.3%.

Xcoal Energy & Resources did not immediately respond to a request for comment from MT Newswires.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

Price: 12.73, Change: -0.17, Percent Change: -1.31