Bill To U.S. Economy For Power Outages Seen In The Billions

Jan. 13, 2005
By Agence France-Presse The bill to the U.S. economy for the largest power outages in the country's history could run up to $30 billion a day, economists estimated Aug. 15. Car assembly lines remain idle and utility plants remain off line Friday, one ...
By Agence France-Presse The bill to the U.S. economy for the largest power outages in the country's history could run up to $30 billion a day, economists estimated Aug. 15. Car assembly lines remain idle and utility plants remain off line Friday, one day after a massive power outage struck large swaths of the eastern U.S. and Canada. "Maximum impact under this scenario, in our view, is approximately $25 billion to $30 billion a day in terms of lost gross domestic product," says Merrill Lynch chief U.S. economist David Rosenburg. Economists said, however, that power supplies are expected to be restored soon, and thus the long-term damage to the economy should not be too crippling. "The bottom line, in our view, is that when a quarter of the country is shut down, which we are practically at risk of doing, it basically shaves off roughly 1% from gross domestic product growth at an annual rate," says Rosenburg . The biggest impact is expected to be on the nation's industrial production, particularly car and truck output, which is clustered around southeastern Michigan and Cleveland. Many of Detroit's car plants are idling as utilities scramble to restore power. "The blackout will eventually affect many U.S. economic statistics, including industrial production, retail sales [and] manufacturing output," adds Dana Saporta, an economist at Stone and McCarthy in New Jersey. Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2003

Popular Sponsored Recommendations

The Realist Guide to Sustainable Supply Chains

Sept. 28, 2023
A ‘roll up your sleeves’ guide to driving green line performance at your organization. Learn with this easy-to-understand ebook how to implement green supply chain management ...

Are You Positioned To Tackle Supply Chain Risk?

Sept. 20, 2023
Supply chain disruption is here to stay, but you can keep ahead of potential issues — and identify new opportunities — by regularly assessing your suppliers. Download our supplier...

Digitally Transforming Data and Processes With Product Lifecycle Management

Oct. 29, 2023
Manufacturers face increasing challenges in product development as they strive to consistently deliver improved results. Discover how industry leaders are improving time-to-market...

Legacy Phone Lines Are Draining Your Profits

Oct. 30, 2023
Copper wire phone line expenses that support emergency devices could be costing your company millions of dollars in wasteful overhead expenses. Rates have been skyrocketing while...

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of IndustryWeek, create an account today!