Maryland Port Administration Executive Director Jonathan Daniels talks about the Port of Baltimore’s 2024 second half performance and the key issues facing the port in 2025.
AJOT: Last year we ended our interview with the remark that “next year” maybe we could talk more about the port [as much of the conversation was on the allision and subsequent collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge]. And perhaps a good place to start is with the remarkable results in the second half of 2024 and the overall success of 2024 – which was said to be the second-best year on record for the Port. An amazing tally for essentially large portions of the port being inaccessible via the main shipping channel for over 10-weeks. How was the port able to stage such a strong end to the year?
Jonathan Daniels: We had a solid year in 2024, but it certainly would’ve been better if not for the allision of the Dali with the Key Bridge and its resulting collapse. Baltimore is one of the most cargo-diverse ports in the nation. Our state-owned public marine terminals handle containers, cars, high and heavy roll on/roll off, forest products, and breakbulk cargos. We also have many private terminals that handle commodities such as coal, salt, sugar, and metals. Additionally, our longshore labor force and our supply chain is the best in the nation. The men and women of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) are highly skilled and do outstanding jobs. We also have great truckers, terminal operators, tug companies and pilots, and a large number of distribution facilities near the port. All of these are contributing factors to our performance.
Jonathan Daniels: It was a factor, but not the only factor. The Port of Baltimore has built a very strong reputation within the international maritime industry for many years. Cargo owners and shippers know that their cargo is going to be handled efficiently and with care. Our customers also know that we are continuously making strong infrastructure investments on our terminals designed to grow business and generate additional jobs.
AJOT: In 2024 the launch of double-stack container services was also a big step forward for the port. As I understand it, these were hi/lo double stacks on a temporary route while the Howard Tunnel was being worked on to provide full double stack capability. What is the latest on the Howard Street tunnel project?
Jonathan Daniels: This is a game-changing project, not just for the Port of Baltimore but also for East Coast rail connectivity. It’s been a great partnership with CSX and Ports America Chesapeake. Vertical clearance improvements at rail bridges north of Baltimore were completed last year to allow us to begin a temporary double-stack route from the port along the CSX network into Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and onto the Midwest until the actual tunnel work is completed next year. At that time, we will have the permanent double-stack route. It will make us more competitive, open up new opportunities for intermodal rail in the Northeast and Midwest markets, and it will also deliver environmental benefits. It’ll grow our business by about 160,000 containers annually and create about 13,000 jobs in construction and jobs resulting from our increased business. It will also provide the East Coast with seamless double-stack capacity from Maine to Florida.
AJOT: One thing we started to talk about in the last interview was the realignment of cargo flows without the bridge connecting Interstate-695 to facilities on both sides of the harbor. What adjustments in cargo flows have been made?
Jonathan Daniels: It’s certainly an adjustment to established traffic flows that have been in place for decades when you have something of this significance occur. I always say that if you want to see how important something is, take it out of service for a while. It remains an adjustment for many of us and will continue to be until the bridge is rebuilt. We’re primarily a truck-dependent port and a lot of those trucks used the bridge, so they’ve had to readjust their routes to get to and from the port.
AJOT: It looks like the Port got off to a good start in 2025 as Ports America reported a record-breaking 167,863 container lifts in Q1. Also, the Port’s added Gemini Alliance’s (Hapag Lloyd and Maersk) Rome Express which connects Vietnam to USA East Coast to Seagirt Marine Terminal. What are some of the other deployment developments in the works at the port?
Jonathan Daniels: We are working very closely with our container partner, Ports America Chesapeake, to grow our container business. We’ve added the MSC Indus 2, ZIM MSC North Star service, and the OOCL Asia service. We’ve increased our weekly services from 12 to 16. Ports America Chesapeake is also doing a tremendous job making the right investments into our Seagirt Terminal to allow for our continued growth. They have purchased eight Neo-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes, 15 new rubber-tired gantry yard cranes, and have made efficiency improvements within our terminal that has improved overall flow for our truckers.
AJOT: We [AJOT] recently reported that AMPORTs launched a new stevedore operation in Baltimore. Which calls to mind, how has the auto business fared in Baltimore as we close in on half-a-year 2025?
Jonathan Daniels: We had a good year for autos in 2024, handling a total of about 750,000 vehicles. We did lose our top port in the nation status for cars last year because of the bridge, but our performance was still good enough to finish second. As you noted, we’ve gotten off to a great start so far in 2025. Through April, we’re up about 37% for cars and light trucks year-over-year.
AJOT: The elephant in the room for US port authorities is tariffs and what they may or may not do to port business. In the case of Baltimore, being multifaceted with container business, ro/ro [with Baltimore usually number 1 among ro/ro ports with a bigger mix of cargo beyond autos] and bulk and breakbulk [with commodities like steel and aluminum products] the impacts are perhaps more complicated than most ports. What are the potential impacts of the tariffs and other legislation on the port?
Jonathan Daniels: We continue to closely monitor the tariff actions and are seeing impacts. Some of our auto manufacturing customers are shipping into U.S. ports such as Baltimore but holding their vehicles at the port of entry, some are adding import fees, and others are absorbing the tariffs. Last year, the Port of Baltimore finished second among all US ports in handling cars and light trucks and approximately 85% of the vehicles handled here were imported. We expect to also see impacts with our container business, especially from China, but those impacts will not show until July. Ultimately, the impact of tariffs on the Port of Baltimore and all ports will depend on the length of time that tariffs are implemented in addition to the decisions of shippers to send their products to the US.
AJOT: Although not related to trade, Carnival Cruise signed a five-year deal with the Port. How has the cruise business done in Baltimore?
Jonathan Daniels: Very well. Baltimore has become one of the top cruise ports in the Mid Atlantic. As you noted, we have Carnival and we also have another of the largest cruise operators in the world homeporting here, Royal Caribbean. Both of them offer year-round cruising from here to the Bahamas, Bermuda, Caribbean, and New England/Canada. Carnival recently announced that they will be bringing a larger ship to Baltimore in 2027. We’re also excited to offer port-call visits where passengers can debark for the day and experience not only Baltimore, but Washington DC or Annapolis, which is known as the sailing capital of the world. Our cruise terminal is located immediately off busy Interstate 95 and directly across from downtown Baltimore. That very unique location is a major reason why we attract so many people who are able to make the easy drive from many neighboring states like Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, North Carolina, and Ohio.
