NEW ORLEANS — The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico isn’t just a mess for the people who live or work on the coast. If you drink coffee, eat shrimp and bananas or plan to buy a new set of tires, you could end up paying more because of the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
The slick has forced the shutdown of the gulf’s rich fishing grounds and could also spread to the busy shipping lanes at the mouth of the Mississippi River, tying up the cargo vessels that move millions of tons of fruit, rubber, grain, steel and other commodities and raw materials in and out of the nation’s interior.
Some cargo ships might choose to unload somewhere else in the U.S. That could drive up costs.
Some businesses were prepared because of their experience during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Folgers Coffee Co., which ships its coffee through the Port of New Orleans, has several weeks’ worth of green coffee on hand and has made arrangements to use other ports in the event of a shutdown, spokeswoman Mary Beth Badertscher said.
Grain prices within the U.S. could fall — very little — if shipments are unable to leave the U.S. and the grain begins piling up at silos in the U.S. .
As for gasoline, petroleum industry analyst Phil Flynn said he doesn’t expect prices to soar unless the shipping lanes are shut down for a long time. Gasoline inventories are at a 20-year high, he said, and oil supplies are probably much higher.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
