Other concerns are whether workers can be absorbed into the workforce and what impact any reduced spending power, even temporarily, could have on demand in the local economy, he said.

“The labor market in Maryland probably has never been stronger, with low unemployment,” he said. “So it is possible that the economy is better situated than other times to absorb some of those workers. The economy’s strength is at least a plus.”

If it takes longer than expected to clear the channel, however, the port risks losing people with specialized skills, and that could make it more difficult to recover, Schwarz said.

In the short term, Cowan hopes more car-carrying vessels will arrive at the single berth at Tradepoint, home to auto terminals for BMW and Volkswagen and miles of warehouses for Amazon, FedEx, McCormick & Co. and others. On Wednesday, the Wolfsburg, a regularly scheduled “roll-on/roll-off” vessel for Volkswagen, arrived at Tradepoint. It was the first cargo to arrive since the bridge collapsed.

But the schedule remains uncertain at Tradepoint, a bustling distribution hub but one with limited capacity for ships and larger “roll on/roll off” vessels and no container terminal — although one is planned. As carriers and shippers have rerouted cargo to other port cities, Cowan worries that some of Tradepoint’s regular arrivals have been and will be diverted too.

Tradepoint officials said this week they have been in increased communication with shipping companies in hopes of taking in redirected cargo.

“Tradepoint Atlantic has an existing (roll-on/roll-off) operation that is well equipped to handle additional levels of cargo,” an official said in an email Thursday. “Plans to accept redirected cargo are underway, including the ability to handle the increased capacity.”

Kerry O’Doyle, Tradepoint’s managing director, said the hub will offer facilities that authorities can use while clearing the channel so as to enable shipping to resume more quickly. The logistics hub resumed operations Wednesday after assisting in search and recovery efforts Tuesday.

“Tradepoint Atlantic is committed to being an active partner during the recovery, clean up, and rebuilding process,” Doyle said in a statement.

Between $100 million to $200 million of goods sails in and out of the port daily, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said at a White House briefing Wednesday afternoon. It handled a record 52.3 million tons of foreign cargo worth $80 billion last year and ranks first among the nation’s ports for the volume of autos and light trucks, heavy farm and construction machinery, imported sugar and imported gypsum.

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