Peter T. Leach | Aug 09, 2011 11:59AM EDT
The Port of Baltimore moved up the rankings of U.S. ports in 2010 in terms of the dollar value and the tonnage of the cargo it handled, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley said Tuesday.
Baltimore now ranks 11th nationally (up from 12th) in the total dollar value of cargo and 13th (up from 15th) in the tonnage of cargo handled, according to recent statistics released by the U.S. Census.
The dollar value of cargo moving through Baltimore totaled $41.5 billion in 2010, a jump of 37 percent from 2009. The tonnage of foreign trade handled by the port’s public and private terminals was 33 million tons, a 47 percent increase from the previous year.
Among individual commodities, the Baltimore move into the No. 1 rank for trucks (from second place in 2009), for imported salt (sixth in 2009), and imported iron ore (second in 2009).
Baltimore remained the number one port in the nation for handling roll-on, roll-off cargo (farm and construction machinery), imported forest products, imported gypsum and imported sugar. The port moved up from third to second for autos, exported coal and imported aluminum handling.
“While a more favorable worldwide economic climate is a contributing factor, the Port of Baltimore has also been able to rebound because of its high productivity, outstanding labor, and geographic advantage placing us closer to the Midwest than other eastern ports,” said Maryland Port Administration Executive Director James J. White. “Throughout the economic downturn, we were able to maintain and grow market share in several key categories. That too is a significant reason for these positive results.”
In the first six months of 2011, general cargo through the port’s public marine terminals increased 14 percent year-over-year. Among cargos, ro-ro cargo was up 51 percent, autos up 10 percent, containers up 9 percent, and paper up 6 percent.
-- Contact Peter T. Leach at pleach@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @petertleach.
