Hurricane Ian has left a path of destruction behind, destroying countless homes, ruining citrus crops and risking fragile supply chains, but the storm’s skirting of a key U.S. fertilizer-production area in Florida means the broader U.S. economy was spared from the worst.
Ian hit the coast of Fort Myers in the country’s third-largest state just shy of the most-powerful Category 5 level on Wednesday and made a second landfall in South Carolina Friday. In addition to the human tragedy, the storm is set to be one of the top-10 costliest storms in the U.S., resulting in about $70 billion to $120 billion in economic damage.
The impact is broad in Florida, including insured and uninsured residences, office buildings, infrastructure and a hit on the key tourism industry. The closure of southeastern distribution channels for products ranging from autos to retail goods may have a domino effect on the rest of the country. But a more lasting hit to inflation was likely avoided as the storm spared a critical production center for fertilizer used by farmers in the U.S. and around the world.
