By VARUN SHANKAR
The quantity of cargo coming by way of the Port of Baltimore’s six public terminals has grown dramatically within the final 25 years, based on knowledge from the Maryland Port Administration (MPA).
The rises are evident throughout varied sorts of cargo; container tons elevated by over 92 % from 1998 to 2022, based on the MPA knowledge. Over the identical interval, automotive cargo went up by a whopping 196 % and roll on/roll off cargo — farm and building equipment — went up by greater than 113 %.
MPA Director of Communications Richard Scher mentioned in an e mail the port’s prime location and a “strategic marketing strategy” have pushed the expansion.
The plan “centered on pairing our geographical and logistical strengths with creating a various portfolio of cargo commodities,” Scher mentioned within the e mail.
The Port of Baltimore was established within the seventeenth century and shortly grew to become an vital middle of commerce, per the Maryland State Archives. The port has grown significantly since, beginning with the federal River and Harbor Act of 1852 and persevering with into the mid-2010s.
The Port of Baltimore ranked seventeenth within the nation in complete tonnage coming into and leaving the port in 2021, based on the Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ 2024 report back to Congress.
It ranked tenth in 2021 in dry bulk tonnage dealt with, based on the report. Dry bulk refers to uncooked supplies reminiscent of iron ore, coal, grain, and extra.
Container Tons have elevated dramatically
In 1998, the Port of Baltimore’s public terminals dealt with about 4.3 million container tons. Twenty-four years later, it dealt with greater than 8.3 million tons, per the MPA knowledge
In 2021, the port ranked fifteenth among the many nation’s ports in container tons dealt with, per the Bureau of Transportation.
The Maryland Port Administration’s main container facility is the Seagirt Marine Terminal, a public-private partnership with Ports America Chesapeake, based on Scher.
The partnership was established in 2010. The group instructed CNBC in 2023 that $550 million in densification upgrades had gone into the terminal since its institution.
“Baltimore is ready to accommodate some of the world’s largest ships as a result of of its 50-foot-deep channel and its supersized, Neo-Panamax cranes,” Scher mentioned within the e mail.
Neo-Panamax cranes are larger and stronger than their predecessors, serving to them cope with the bigger ships that may now cross by way of the Panama Canal,
Auto and Machinery Increases
The Port of Baltimore’s public terminals now cope with considerably extra automotive transport than it did earlier than, per the MPA knowledge.
That has elevated the quantity of roll-on/roll-off cargo it handles, together with dump vehicles, harvesters, rollers, and extra, per Scher. Among East Coast ports, Baltimore is most inland, preserving it nearer to Midwest markets and producers. Scher mentioned that’s helped the port develop.
“Baltimore has led the nation’s ports in dealing with autos for 13 consecutive years and equipment for greater than 20 years,” he mentioned within the e mail.
2023 noticed a document 1.3 million tons of roll-on/roll-off cargo come by way of Baltimore’s piers, he added.
Scher credited these figures to the port’s Quality Cargo Handling Action Team (QCHAT). Manufacturers, labor, processors, terminal operators, the port, and extra invested events meet month-to-month, he mentioned, to take a look at the earlier month’s efficiency.
“Handling cargo with meticulous care is on the very middle of our high quality crew,” he mentioned within the e mail. “Any areas of enchancment are rapidly and simply addressed with all key gamers current at these conferences.”
