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May/June 201 2
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The Port of Baltimore
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OTHER 2011 PORT CARGO-HANDLING
RECORDS INCLUDED:
❯
19.2 million tons of coal
❯
551,000 auto units
(also highest in the U.S.)
❯
401,135 containers at the
public marine terminals
❯
631,806 Twenty Foot Equivalent
Units (TEU’s)
❯
Six million tons of containers at the
public marine terminals
❯
520,000 tons of wood pulp at the
public marine terminals
Baltimore was ranked best among
360 U.S. ports for handling farm and
construction machinery, autos, trucks,
imported forest products, imported sugar,
imported iron ore and imported gypsum.
Baltimore ranked second in the U.S. for
exported coal, imported salt and imported
aluminum. Overall, Baltimore is ranked 11th
for the total dollar value of cargo and 12th
for cargo tonnage.
General cargo managed by the MPA
in 2011 reached 8.8 million tons, up nine
percent from the previous year and just
short of the all-time MPA record of nine
million tons set in 2008. The majority of
general cargo includes containerized
goods, autos, forest products, and roll
on/roll off cargo (farm and construction
equipment). Among these specific com-
modities, Roll-On/Roll- Off tonnage was
up 51 percent; auto units increased 12
percent; containers were up four percent;
and pulp, which is used to produce paper
towels, tissues and other paper products,
was up one percent. Rolled paper, which is
used to produce magazines and glossies,
was down seven percent.
Imported cargo headed to Baltimore’s
public terminals reached 5.5 million tons,
a seven percent increase from 2010.
Exported cargo leaving the public termi-
nals for worldwide destinations was 3.3
million tons, a 13 percent increase from
the previous year.
Bulk cargos like sugar, salt, coal and
gypsum that are handled primarily by the
private terminals reached 28 million tons,
a 17 percent increase from 2010. Coal
experienced the greatest jump among
bulk commodities in 2011, finishing with
19.2 million tons, a 38.5 percent increase
from 2010.
The private marine terminals exported
20.4 million tons of cargo in 2011, a 39
percent increase from 2010. Imported
cargo at the private terminals was 8.3
million tons, a 15 percent decrease.
The cruise business also experienced
another record-breaking year in Baltimore,
as 251,889 people sailed on 105 cruises
out of Baltimore in 2011. Both figures were
all-time records. Baltimore is ranked fifth
among East Coast ports and 14th in the
U.S. for most cruise passengers. The total
economic value to the State of Maryland
of cruising from the Port of Baltimore is
about $90 million, with an estimated 200
jobs generated directly by cruise activity.
Gov. O’Malley noted that the Port’s
record-setting performance in 2011 was
“excellent news for the thousands of men
and women who work at the Port and
depend on it to provide for their families.”
Business at the Port of Baltimore
generates about 14,630 direct jobs,
while another 108,000 jobs in Maryland
are linked to port activities. The Port
is responsible for creating $3 billion in
personal wages and salary, and more
than $300 million in state and local taxes.
MPA Executive Director James J. White
looks forward to the Port carrying on in
its role as a “key economic generator for
Maryland,” particularly as work is com-
pleted on the new 50-foot container berth
at Seagirt Marine Terminal.
“The berth will allow for some of the
largest container ships in the world to come to
Baltimore and will open up new opportunities
for us to increase business, grow jobs and
further entrench ourselves as an economic
stalwart for our state,” White said.
PHOTOGRAPHY CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: KATHY BERGREN SMITH,
BILL MCALLEN, BILL MCALLEN