Containers show first year over year gains at Port of Baltimore since pandemic

The state-owned, public marine terminals of the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore continue to show significant gains in the most recent October reporting compared to cargo volume lows during the COVID-19 emergency.

General cargo, containers and roll on/roll off (farm and construction machinery) each posted double-digit improvements, while autos/light trucks had a triple-digit increase compared to the low months early in the pandemic. And for the first time since the impact of the pandemic, containers and general cargo showed year-over-year monthly gains in 2020 compared to 2019.

October saw significant increases for autos/light trucks, general cargo, containers and roll on/roll off machinery compared to the COVID-19 low points in May and June. The October 2020 figure for containers represents a 10.5% increase compared to October 2019, the first year-over-year gain in this category since the pandemic began. The figure for general cargo is a year-over-year increase of 5.6% compared to October 2019.

Key cargos were also up in October 2020 compared to September 2020.

As part of the port’s continuing public-private partnership (P3) with partner Ports America Chesapeake, construction for a second, 50-foot deep berth at the Seagirt Marine Terminal is moving forward.  The additional berth will allow the Port to handle two supersized ships simultaneously.   Four new additional Neo-Panamax cranes are scheduled to arrive in April 2021 and be operational by summer.

The growing container business also accentuates the need for the Howard Street Tunnel expansion project in Baltimore, which will accommodate double-stacked rail cars to move cargo from the Port. That project is benefitting from public-private investment between the federal government, the state of Maryland, CSX and others.

The Port of Baltimore generates about 15,300 direct jobs, with nearly 140,000 jobs overall linked to Port activities. Last year the Port handled a record 43.6 million tons of cargo, including more than 11 million tons of general cargo at the state-owned, public terminals. The Port ranks first among the nation’s ports for volume of autos and light trucks, roll on/roll off heavy farm and construction machinery, and imported gypsum. It ranks 11th among major U.S. ports for foreign cargo handled and ninth for total foreign cargo value.