Port of Baltimore generated $65B in 2025, to add grain facility

The Port of Baltimore continues to rebound from the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in 2024. On Thursday, it hosted a groundbreaking for a new grain transloading facility at the Seagirt Marine Terminal.

According to the Maryland Port Administration, the port generated more than $65 billion in 2025. Of that figure, almost $20 billion came from handling automobiles and light trucks.

Maryland farmers will be able to take advantage of the facility to get their products to the port for export around the world under an agreement between Ports America Chesapeake and Frey Commodities. The 4-acre facility will include three grain silos and export soybeans, corn, wheat and other agricultural commodities around the world. It is expected to open in August.

Currently, there is no direct transloading facility at the port that moves grain and soybeans from trucks into containers for shipping. The new facility will allow trucks to come directly to the Seagirt terminal, deposit its load onto a conveyor system that will move it into a silo.

“This new partnership with Frey adds transloading capabilities at the Port of Baltimore and creates a more efficient, streamlined supply chain for farmers while strengthening the region’s competitive position,” said Mark Schmidt, President of Ports America Chesapeake. “Direct delivery to Seagirt reduces complexity and cost for producers and allows the Port to expand agricultural exports.”

Once operational, the grain elevator will have the capacity to load more than 200 containers per week. The three silos will have a capacity of 60,000 bushels and support inbound shipments from both truck and rail. Rail access to CSX and Norfolk Southern will provide a connection to Midwest producers and a direct and efficient route through the port.

Rebound from tariffs, bridge collapse

Automobiles and light trucks alone accounted for about 30% of revenue that the port generated in 2025.

Although the port has consistently been a top U.S. automobile shipper, tariffs imposed on imported goods in 2025, including automobiles, combined with the effects of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in 2024 to raise concerns.

“We expect to see impacts with our container business, especially from China,” Richard Scher, director of communications at the Maryland Port Administration, said in a statement in 2024.

At least 1.5 million tons of automobiles and light trucks moved through the Port of Baltimore in 2025; only 3% of total cargo handled throughout the year.

Coal, construction and agricultural equipment were other top performing commodities in 2025.

“Once again, Maryland’s Port of Baltimore proves it is one of our nation’s top economic assets as it continues to rebound from the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in 2024,” Gov. Wes Moore said, announcing 2025 as a banner year on March 24.

Speaking on behalf of Jonathan Daniels, Maryland Port Administration’s executive director, Scher told Capital News Service recently that dealing with the effect of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse and tariffs in the industry have been “very challenging.”

In 2024, the port ceased operations for about three months after a cargo ship struck the bridge in March, causing it to collapse and killing six construction workers.

Total container tonnage dropped below 2,000 immediately after the collapse, triggering fears of economic decline in the region. Operations picked back up and by the end of the year, the port had moved more than 45 million tons of cargo.

But when President Donald Trump introduced auto tariffs in 2025, the industry was again faced with uncertainty.

“The inconsistent, almost day-to-day changes of them have been hard on our industry,” Sher said of the tariffs.

He told Capital News Service that business moved fast in the first quarter of 2025, as shippers pushed out a lot of cargo in anticipation of tariff hikes.

“That good first quarter helped us through the rest of the year when tariffs were being implemented,” he said.

While the port has outperformed itself in 2024, it did not catch up with the 52 million tons handled in 2023 before the bridge collapsed. Still, officials are optimistic that more growth lies ahead.

Scher described the completion of the Howard Street Tunnel Project as a game-changing initiative for the industry.

The project will increase the height of the 131-year-old tunnel to allow trains transporting shipping containers stacked on top of each other to travel between Maryland and Pennsylvania.

The administration expects the project to add 13,000 jobs to the industry.

“We are very excited about what’s on the horizon,” he said.

Ijeoma Opara reports for Capital News Service and contributed to this report.