Harvey, Irma to slow economy, but rebound should follow

WASHINGTON -- With businesses disrupted, fuel and chemical refineries out of commission and consumers struggling to restore their lives, Hurricanes Harvey and Irma likely will pack a tough double-whammy for the U.S. economy.

Nearly one-fifth of the nation's oil refining capacity has been shut down because of Harvey, and fuel production has dropped sharply as a result, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Consumers also will spend less in the immediate aftermath of the storms. Even those ready to make purchases will face closed storefronts and dark restaurants.

Irma will cause tourists to delay -- and in many cases never take -- trips to Florida's beaches or Disney World. Chemical refineries also have been closed, reducing the production of plastics.

Damage estimates from the two storms are early, particularly for Irma. Hurricane Harvey likely will cost up to $108 billion, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which would make it the second-most-expensive hurricane after Katrina.

Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Analytics, estimates Irma will cause $64 billion to $92 billion in damage.

While the economic toll pales beside the human costs, analysts estimate the nation's annualized growth rate will be one-half to one full percentage point slower in the July-to-September quarter than it would otherwise have been.

But repair work, reconstruction and purchases of replacement cars and other goods should provide an offsetting boost later this year and in early 2018.

"Construction activity will rocket in the affected areas," said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. "Households' spending on building materials, furniture, appliances, and vehicles will all be much higher than otherwise would have been the case."

Catastrophic natural disasters often don't depress the U.S. economy in the long run. The destruction of property reduces the nation's total wealth. But the rebuilding and restoration work tends to stimulate economic growth in the following months.

The rebuilding can take time. After Hurricane Katrina bashed New Orleans in 2005, it took seven months for home-building permits in the city to return to their pre-hurricane levels, according to Goldman Sachs.