Page 24 - Port of Baltimore - Issue 4 - 2022

PORT PERSON
Moving
in the Right Direction
TOM HUESMAN OF TERMINAL CORPORATION LOOKS
BACK ON A DISTINGUISHED LOGISTICS CAREER
BY TINA IRGANG LEADERMAN
Tom Huesman’s love of the Port of Baltimore dates back decades. He grew up in Baltimore, and his older brother “was the chief clerk on the waterfront for the ILA local,” he said. “He used to help me get extra work as a clerical person or
laborer so I could earn some extra money for college. That’s what got me into the business.”
In 1979, Huesman landed his first full-time job in the industry, with a company called United States Lines that had recently come under new ownership and was looking to start over with an all-new staff.
The position at United States Lines lasted six years before the company folded, and Huesman gained valuable experience from it. “I was in charge of a whole division and had seven terminals reporting to me,” he said. “So when the company went under, CSX actually came to me and wanted me to work for them.” As an International Development Manager for CSX, Huesman worked on strategies for outreach to international ocean carriers.
Not long after that, in 1987, another employer knocked on Huesman’s door: the Maryland Port Administration (MPA). Huesman worked for the MPA through 1988 as General Manager of International Marketing, in which position he was responsible for increasing cargo tonnage through the Port by negotiating agreements with ocean carriers.
“At the time, I was part of probably the first conversations that took place about double-stack trains in Baltimore,” Huesman said. “And now I might be around when it actually happens” once the Howard Street Tunnel expansion is completed.
[22] The Port of Baltimore ■ ISSUE 4 / 2022