Port of Baltimore’s Future Looks Bright

The Maryland Port Administration (MPA) has announced that 46,827 containers were handled at the Port of Baltimore’s public marine terminals in October 2014, establishing a new record for most containers handled in one month and surpassing the previous record of 44,095 containers set in July 2013.

“The Port of Baltimore is one of the most efficient seaports in the United States,” said MPA Executive Director James J. White. “Our vessel production is among the highest for U.S. ports. Our new 50-foot deep container berth and four supersized cranes have placed us in a very competitive position to attract some of the largest ships in the world. The future of the Port of Baltimore has never looked brighter for the thousands of men and women who work on our marine terminals to support their families.”

The number of containers handled at the public marine terminals during the current year is up 10.3 percent over the same time period in 2013, which was a record year for containers at the Port’s public marine terminals.

The Port of Baltimore is ranked as the top port among all U.S. ports for handling autos and light trucks, farm and construction machinery, imported forest products, imported sugar, imported aluminum and imported gypsum. Baltimore ranks second in the U.S. for exported coal. Overall Baltimore is ranked ninth for the total dollar value of cargo and 14 th for cargo tonnage for all U.S. ports.

Business at the Port of Baltimore generates about 14,630 direct jobs, while about 108,000 jobs in Maryland are linked to port activities. The Port is responsible for $3 billion in personal wages and salary and more than $300 million in state and local taxes.

With a 50-foot-deep shipping channel, Baltimore is one of only two ports on the U.S. East Coast currently able to handle large Super Post-Panamax ships that will use the newly enlarged Panama Canal when construction is completed by 2015.

Press Release