Earthquake in Chile: Economic Aftershocks

(Chilean aearthquake article updated with additional analyst insight regarding business repercussions from Chile's reconstruction efforts.)

CHILE (TheStreet) -- The earthquake in Chile has claimed the lives of more than 700 people -- a number that is sure to rise -- and has wreaked untold devastation. Homes have been destroyed. Communities have been laid to waste.

In light of this reality, it might seem crass to consider the economic fallout of the tragedy. But given the world's reliance on Chile for numerous exports, we would be derelict in our duties to not assess the repercussions of Chile's economic aftershocks.

Given that Chile accounts for one-third of the global mining of copper, that sector seems the most appropriate place to begin; indeed, not just the copper miners, but also those companies that rely heavily on the heavy metal to produce their products could be impacted by the earthquake.

Granted, although it's hard to put a dollar amount on the financial fallout these companies could experience from a short-term spike in copper without further information on how Chilean copper producers have been impacted, it's clear which sectors and companies are among those with the biggest exposure to copper price increases.

Those include household appliances manufacturers like Whirlpool (WHR) and General Electric (GE). "Those companies demand a lot of copper," IBISWorld analyst Toon van Beeck points out.

Likewise, the automotive sector could be dented by higher copper prices. "Ford (F) and GM use a lot of copper," van Beeck says, along with telecom companies and cable users like Verizon (VZ ).

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