By Karen E. Thuermer, AJOTRo-ro—those things that basically roll-on and roll-off of ocean going vessels, is important business for many seaports. Through year-to-date 2011, ro-ro tonnage accounted for 10 percent of the total tonnage at the Port of Baltimore’s public terminals. That tonnage encompasses everything from automobiles to rolling stock such as farm equipment, break bulk, and project cargo. Joe Greco, Maryland Port Administration (MPA) deputy director of Marketing for Ro-Ro Services, segregates autos from other ro-ro cargos, referring to it as “high and heavy stuff.” In an interview with this AJOT reporter, he reveals that the Port of Baltimore saw good tonnage for high and heavy cargos. This cargo weighed in at 508,095 short tons in 2010 versus 464,915 short tons in 2009. “We saw roughly a 9 percent increase in ro-ro tons last year,” Greco says. “Calculating ro-ro by metric tonnage shows that our market share increased by almost 5 percent for the 1st Quarter 2010.” Port officials surmise that this indicates a trend upward for ro-ro at the Port of Baltimore. The figure for automobiles and light trucks is even more significant, weighing in at 722,446 short tons for 2009 and 1,004,712 short tons for 2010, for a whopping 39 percent increase. “We attribute this increase to current economic conditions,” Greco comments. “The U.S. dollar became weak and the Euro boosted exports.” It helped that BMW also started shipping about a fifth of all of its cars sold in the United States through the Port of Baltimore in 2010. The luxury carmaker has a five-year agreement with MPA to ship about 50,000 vehicles annually through the port’s Fairfield and Masonville Marine auto terminals to Midwestern customers. Other car manufacturers utilizing the port for auto imports include Ford and Mercedes-Benz. Ford Motor Co., for example, imports new Ford Fiestas made in Mexico and its Ford Transit Connect van made in Turkey through the port. But Greco adds that while the increase was significant, he feels that the business is economic conditions remain more fragile than he would like. In fact, in considering ro-ro imports versus exports through Baltimore, Greco reveals ro-ro imports saw a 30 percent increase in 2010 compared to 2009, but export tonnage was basically flat. What is designated an import versus an export, however, may be somewhat skewed in Greco’s estimation. He is quick to point out that many U.S. manufacturers of ro-ro goods are in fact global companies. For example, Caterpillar, which operates as the world’s largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines, has manufacturing operations in Russia, China and Brazil. “Caterpillar is not unique,” comments Greco. “Case Holland, AGCO, and— to some extent—John Deere also have a global presence.” Caterpillar, Case Holland, John Deere and AGCO all ship via the Port of Baltimore. In fact, last year the Port of Baltimore’s magazine reported that AGCO moves more than 9,000 units annually through Baltimore. “ADGO also brings in a number of parts and smaller tractors via containers,” reported Dominic Scurti, MPA’s ro-ro trade development representative, in that article. Highly Competitive Still, the business is highly competitive with seaports up and down the East Coast vying for the business. Last year, for example, the Port of Baltimore lost shipments of Kia and Hyundai to the Port of Baltimore. But BMW used to be shipped via the Port of Charleston. This business is also critical to attracting carrier rotations to the port. That’s because carriers want to fill their holds. A seaport that offers good tonnage for both inbound and outbound goods makes for an ideal candidate. The Port of Baltimore’s ro-ro, and high and heavy freight, coupled with its automobile business, offers such a mix. Consequently, ACL, which operates combination vessels, has been a good customer to MPA. “ACL loads steel, metal pla