Japanese Reactor Meltdown and Tsunami Earthquake

The meltdown of the Japanese reactor after the earthquake and tsunami is being discussed as having the potential to create a global economic slowdown by disrupting corporate profits that rely on Japanese manufacturing directly or indirectly. Japan will have less electricity which will slow its manufacturing along with damaged infrastructure and factories. Many companies have built Japan into their supply chain. But the impact of the loss of capacity, much of it semi-permanently over the middle term, will also involve an increase in demand for everything used in rebuilding. America's Hurricane Katrina actually helped spur US economic output, and the same should happen in Japan. Furthermore, Japan’s spending increase can largely be funded by its citizens, and the bond markets are not yet concerned. IF the nuclear incident can be contained soon, the Japanese crisis will lead to higher spot freight shipping rates as well as increased demand from a number of industries, such as metals, building materials and equipment, and green infrastructure producers.