The Port of Baltimore reports that a record 43 million tons of international cargo was handled last year by the combined state-owned public and the privately-owned marine terminals at the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore, breaking the previous Baltimore cargo record of 40.9 million tons that stood for 44 years. The value of the cargo passing through the Port in 2018 was also a new benchmark: $59.7 billion, surpassing the previous $53.9 billion set in 2017.
“The Port of Baltimore continues to be a shining example of Maryland being open for business,” Governor Larry Hogan said. “Today’s announcement further demonstrates the Port’s value as one of our leading economic engines and a generator of good-paying, family-supporting jobs for tens of thousands of Marylanders.”
The 43 million tons in 2018 was enough to move the Port of Baltimore up one slot in cargo handled to 11th among major U.S. ports, and the $59.7 billion total cargo value ranked ninth nationally.
The 2018 figures for public and private terminals combined follow an earlier announcement that the Port’s state-owned public terminals alone handled 10.9 million tons of general cargo last year, more than ever before and the third consecutive year exceeding the 10 million-ton mark. General cargo includes cars and light trucks, containers, roll on/roll off machinery (farm, mining and construction equipment), forest products such as rolled paper and wood pulp, and bulk cargo. The upsurge in cargo mirrors an increase in jobs and the economic impact of the Port noted in a recent study on the public and the private terminals’ 2017 success at the Port of Baltimore.
Additionally, new individual records were established for containers, cars, and imported roll on/roll off machinery. Among the nation’s ports, the Port of Baltimore ranks first for autos and light trucks, roll on/roll off heavy farm and construction machinery, imported sugar, and imported gypsum. The Port ranks second in exported coal.