Photo: Market Watch
Watching the news from halfway across the world you wouldn’t consider South Carolina’s record-breaking rainfall recorded these days as something to worry about. However, if you have BMW SUV on order, you might have to reconsider.
In case you didn’t know, for over 20 years now, BMW had a plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Furthermore, that’s the one place in the world where Bavarian SUVs are put together. That’s right, the X3, X4, X5, and X6 are all assembled here.
With the floods and heavy rainfall happening in South Carolina, manufacturers find it hard not only to keep the assembly lines going but also to ship the cars worldwide.
BMW’s production rate wasn’t affected, the plant still working at full capacity, but it seems like they can’t deliver the cars to the Port of Charleston as fast as they used to. That’s because rail transfer is being delayed due to the Congaree River rising 10 feet in just 12 hours.
However, the Germans are looking for alternatives to make sure you don’t end up waiting weeks longer than you should: “BMW will work closely with state authorities to assess alternative options, including movement by truck to the Port of Charleston,” BMW spokeswoman Sky Foster said in a statement.
Others haven’t been so lucky, though. Daimler Vans Manufacturing was hit harder at its plant in Ladson, near Charleston, as its workers couldn’t get to work on Monday due to flood waters. The plant was safe and sound but without anyone to operate the machinery, things had to be put on hold for now. Officials claim that the production will be made up for on Saturday.
This led to all sorts of problems, including having a stretch of 70 miles (112 km) of Interstate 95 closed because of the high water as well Georgetown, a city of 9,000 people, being nearly completely flooded. Curfews have been imposed in various areas while schools and universities remained closed on Monday.
With the floods and heavy rainfall happening in South Carolina, manufacturers find it hard not only to keep the assembly lines going but also to ship the cars worldwide.
BMW’s production rate wasn’t affected, the plant still working at full capacity, but it seems like they can’t deliver the cars to the Port of Charleston as fast as they used to. That’s because rail transfer is being delayed due to the Congaree River rising 10 feet in just 12 hours.
However, the Germans are looking for alternatives to make sure you don’t end up waiting weeks longer than you should: “BMW will work closely with state authorities to assess alternative options, including movement by truck to the Port of Charleston,” BMW spokeswoman Sky Foster said in a statement.
Others haven’t been so lucky, though. Daimler Vans Manufacturing was hit harder at its plant in Ladson, near Charleston, as its workers couldn’t get to work on Monday due to flood waters. The plant was safe and sound but without anyone to operate the machinery, things had to be put on hold for now. Officials claim that the production will be made up for on Saturday.
Rainfall expected to happen every once in 1,000 years
The storm that has shaken up the state brought no less than 20 inches of rain in various parts of South Carolina over the weekend alone. The Governor, Nikki Haley, said that some areas of the state she’s running have been hit with levels of rainfall that would occur once every 1,000 years.This led to all sorts of problems, including having a stretch of 70 miles (112 km) of Interstate 95 closed because of the high water as well Georgetown, a city of 9,000 people, being nearly completely flooded. Curfews have been imposed in various areas while schools and universities remained closed on Monday.
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