Port of Baltimore set several records in March

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The state-owned public marine terminals at the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore set several new records in March, including new monthly standards for cargo tonnage and number of containers, according to information released Thursday by the Maryland Port Administration.

New monthly cargo records set at the Port in March included most general cargo tons in a month (1,018,274), most 20-foot containers in a month (95,862). best March for cars and light trucks (59,052 vehicles) and the most roll on/roll off of farm and construction machinery cargo tons since June 2012 (96,535). The overall tonnage record beats the previous high of 1,007,914 tons set in May 2017 and the container record tops the 91,527 mark set in July 2018.

The announcement of March figures follows the visit of The Evergreen Triton, the largest container ship to ever come to the Port of Baltimore. with a capacity of 14,424 20-foot Equivalent Unit (TEU) containers, it was able to visit Seagirt Marine Terminal because the Port’s infrastructure as its 50-foot-deep channel and 50-foot-deep berth allows access for supersized ships.

The 2017 Economic Impact of the Port of Baltimore in Maryland report determined that the port generates about 15,330 direct jobs, with more than 139,180 jobs overall linked to port activities. The average salary for people with direct jobs at the port is 9.5% higher than the average annual wage in Maryland. The port is responsible for nearly $3.3 billion in personal wages and salaries, $2.6 billion in business revenues and $395 million in state and local tax revenues.

In 2018, a record 43 million tons of international cargo was handled by the combined state-owned public and privately-owned marine terminals at the port. The value of the cargo in 2018 was also a benchmark at  $59.7 billion. Last year the state-owned public terminals handled a record 10.9 million tons of general cargo and 1,023,152 TEU containers, the first year ever exceeding 1 million. The port also handled a record 850,147 cars and light trucks in 2018, the most in the U.S. for the eighth consecutive year.

The 43 million tons in 2018 placed the port 11th among major U.S. ports for cargo handled, and the $59.7 billion total cargo value ranked ninth nationally. Among the nation’s ports, the port ranks first for autos and light trucks, roll on/roll off heavy farm and construction machinery, imported sugar and imported gypsum and second in exported coal.