With more than a half a century of expertise in handling vehicles, the Port of Baltimore continues to build upon its prominence as the No. 1 U.S. port for combined imports and exports of automobiles.
Cars roll off an NYK Line vessel into the Port of Baltimore.
A record total of 749,100 cars were imported or exported through the Port of Baltimore in 2013 – the highest such volume for any U.S. port and up 15 percent from the Maryland port’s previous peak of 652,000 cars in 2012. Taking into account that a single Mercedes-Benz vehicle may be worth $80,000 or more, the large number of cars moving through the Port of Baltimore helps contribute to the high dollar value associated with its cargo activity. While ranked 14th in cargo tonnage among U.S. ports, with 30.3 million tons of international cargo crossing public and private docks last year, Baltimore comes in at No. 9 in terms of dollar value of cargo, with a total value of $52.6 billion.
Adding to the roster of roll-on/roll-off services at the Port of Baltimore, Mitsui OSK Lines in March launched a new weekly car carrier service from the Port of Veracruz, near burgeoning Mexican vehicle production plants.
Larry Johnson, who heads automotive marketing efforts for the Maryland Port Administration, noted that Japan-based MOL now makes a total of between 10 and 15 calls at Baltimore.
“The recent increase in MOL business to the port has been a tremendous boost in auto volumes and an economic benefit to the region in general,” Johnson said.
Public and private terminals at the Port of Baltimore combine to offer more than 600 acres for handling of autos and other ro/ro cargos, such as farm and construction machinery, another category in which Baltimore leads all U.S. ports. The port is also home to multiple auto processing operations.
Baltimore traces its car-handling roots back to 1963, when it became the port of entry for Volkswagen’s Beetle, and the port takes pride in its ability to handle vehicles with utmost care, including through its globally recognized Quality Cargo Handling Action Team.
As with other cargo types, the Port of Baltimore’s mid-Atlantic inland location offers advantages to both exporters and importers, being closer than ocean ports to manufacturers and consumers alike. Norfolk Southern and CSX railroads both offer direct services to Midwest markets, augmenting truck options via Interstate highways that place two-thirds of the U.S. population within an overnight drive of port terminals.
For more than a quarter of a century, Paul Scott Abbott has been writing and shooting images for the American Journal of Transportation, applying four decades of experience as an award-winning journalist.
A graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, with a master’s magna cum laude from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Abbott has served as president of chapters of the Propeller Club of the United States, Florida Public Relations Association and Society of Professional Journalists.
Abbott honed his skills on several daily newspapers, including The Cincinnati Enquirer, The Richmond (Va.) News Leader, Albuquerque Journal and (South Florida) Sun-Sentinel, and was editor and publisher of The County Line, a weekly newspaper he founded in suburban Richmond, Va.
A native Chicagoan, he is a member of American Mensa and an ever-optimistic fan of the Chicago Cubs.
