Maryland Governor Wes Moore announced that the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore’s state-owned public marine terminals, managed by the Maryland Port Administration, and its private terminals handled a record 52.3 million tons of foreign cargo, worth $80 billion, in 2023.
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“The Port of Baltimore is the best port in the nation and one of the largest economic generators in Maryland,” said Governor Moore.
“Together, we aren’t just breaking records—we are creating jobs, growing our economy, and building new pathways to opportunity. We must continue our work to make Maryland more competitive by investing in our greatest assets, including our world-class port.”
Maryland’s Port of Baltimore generates about 15,300 direct jobs, with nearly 140,000 jobs linked to port activities. It ranks first among the nation’s ports for volume of autos and light trucks, roll on/roll off heavy farm and construction machinery, imported sugar, and imported gypsum; ninth among major U.S. ports for foreign cargo handled; and ninth for total foreign cargo value.
New Port of Baltimore records set in 2023 include:
• 52.3 million tons of foreign cargo (previous record was 44.2 million tons in 2019)
• $80.8 billion in foreign cargo value (previous record was $74.3 billion in 2022)
• 1.3 million tons of roll on/roll off farm and construction machinery (previous record was 1.0 million tons in 2012)
• 1.1 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit containers (previous record was 1.0 million in 2019)
• 11.7 million tons of general cargo tons (previous record was 11.3 million tons in 2022)
• 847,158 cars and light trucks, more cars and light trucks than any other U.S. port for 13 consecutive years
In addition to the records, the Port of Baltimore handled 847,158 cars and light trucks in 2023, the 13th consecutive year it has led all other U.S. ports in that commodity.
The port’s rising container business will be additionally supported by the CSX-owned Howard Street Tunnel expansion project, which will allow for double-stacked container rail cars and enable seamless double-stack capacity from Maine to Florida.
The project involves clearance improvements in the 127-year-old tunnel and at 21 other locations between Baltimore and Philadelphia.
With the tunnel expansion project, Baltimore will be able to send double-stacked containers by rail into the Ohio Valley and on to Chicago.
The project is scheduled to be completed in 2027. The Howard Street Tunnel project benefits from public-private investment from the federal government, Maryland, CSX, and others, and is expected to increase the port’s business by about 160,000 containers annually.
The project will also generate about 6,550 construction jobs, and an additional 7,300 jobs from increased business. ■
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