� American Journal of Transportation ajot.com

Baltimore puts on its fighting gloves to become key seaport

Container vessels lined at Seagirt Marine Terminal at the Port of Baltimore

Maryland Ports ‘11

If there ever was a boxing match between seaports, we’d probably see the Port of Baltimore and Port of Virginia in the ring. Both are strong contenders to attract increased business to their seaports once the economy gets on a steady course. In fact, the Port of Baltimore is already making some impressive punches.

Let’s begin with Mediterranean Shipping Company’s (MSC) 9,178 TEU ship dubbed the Bruxelles, which called at the Port of Baltimore’s Seagirt Marine Terminal in mid July.

Maryland Port Administration (MPA) officials remark this enormous ship is only a sign of bigger vessels yet to come. In fact, the port received another post-Panamax containership, the 9,200-TEU MSC Sindy, on August 2.

To date, the Bruxelles and the Sindy are the largest containerships to call at the Port of Baltimore. The Bruxelles, alone weighs about 107,000 gross tons, and is 1,011 feet in length and 138 feet wide.

But beginning next year when the Port of Baltimore’s new 50-foot container berth is completed at Seagirt, the port will be able to accommodate fully-loaded ships like the Bruxelles and Sindy with ease, and even larger ones.

“Large ships like these need 50-feet of water depth in order to bring in their maximum loads,” says MPA Executive Director James J. White.

When the new 50-foot container berth is completed next year at the port’s Seagirt Terminal, MPA’s Port of Baltimore will be one of only two East Coast ports to have water depth capable of handling such massive vessels.

The other is the Virginia Port Authority’s (VPA) Port of Norfolk, which is why this puts the Port of Virginia into the fighting ring.

The Port of New York/New Jersey also provides a 50-foot channel, but bridges/overpasses – deemed sky restrictions – prevent the large ships from taking advantage of the port’s deep water.

Given the fact that only about 250 land miles separate them, Baltimore and Norfolk are especially keen competitors in attracting steamship line rotations for post-Panamax ships looking for East Coast ports of call, particularly once the Panama Canal widening project is completed in 2014.

The Panama Canal widening project will make it possible for the large post-Panamax ships to transit the Panama Canal and call on the U.S. East Coast rather than calling on the U.S. West Coast where shipments are then trucked or railed across the United States to their destinations.

The large ships already calling at the ports come via the Suez Canal and Mediterranean Sea.

The Port of Baltimore’s new

By Karen E. Thuermer, AJOT

50-foot Seagirt container berth, which is planned to include four Super Post-Panamax cranes, is scheduled to be completed

in August 2012. When completed, the new berth

will accommodate ships carrying up to 14,000 TEU containers.

Driver for Growth

MPA officials and those with Ports America Chesapeake,

with whom MPA has entered into a private/public partnership (“P3”) to develop the berth, expect the project to be a real driver in accommodating larger vessels and attracting more cargo to and from Baltimore.

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august 15, �011 Maryland Ports �

The 50-foot berth is a key element of the 50-year agreement between the MPA and Ports America Chesapeake to lease and operate the state-owned 200-acre Seagirt Marine Terminal that began in 2010.

MPA’s White calls the P3 “good for the port” and adds that the “50-foot berth will be a game changer.”

Christopher Lee, managing director of Highstar Capital, the independent investment fund that owns Ports America Chesapeake and leases the Seagirt Terminal at the Port of Baltimore, comments that Maryland officials were “forward thinking in creating the P3.”

Last year Ports America Chesapeake acquired $334 million in funding to invest in necessary infrastructure at Seagirt, which, in these lean times, is saving the State of Maryland hundreds of millions of dollars it would have had to invest in capital improvements.

Mark Montgomery, President and CEO Ports America Chesapeake, explains to AJOT that his company aimed to finish the new berth in 2012 -- two years ahead of the opening of the widened Panama Canal, because he believes steamship lines are already considering their rotations going forward.

“A lot of ports are having problems getting prepared to accommodate ships in time for the widening of the Canal,” he says. “By comparison, Baltimore has taken a ‘built it and they will come’ attitude. We will be in position when steamship lines decide their rotations since we will have the necessary infrastructure.”

Already existing Seagirt terminal assets operated by Ports America include three berths, seven container cranes, and 12 gantries. According to Montgomery, current cranes in operation at the terminal are capable of making 37 moves per hour per crane.

“Truck turn times are less than 30 minutes for a single move and 60 minutes for a double move,” he adds.

The terminal uses Navis SPARCS vessel and yard planning programs, which increase efficiencies.

ADDitionAl ADvAntAGes

There are other advantages, particularly for when volumes pick up and increased numbers of containers transit the Port of Baltimore. One is the 199 acres of land available for distribution center development next to Seagirt Marine Terminal.

“There’s space for 1 million square feet of warehouse space,” Montgomery emphasizes.

By virtue of geography, the Port of Baltimore offers another key benefit. That is the fact the port is 150 miles inland. This gives shippers an automatic savings of $150 -250 per truck move, says Joe Greco, MPA deputy director of marketing

Furthermore, Baltimore sits right at the doorstep of some of the nation’s highest incomes.

“Maryland, itself, offers the highest household income in the nation,” he says. “It’s 38 percent higher than the national average.”

According to a study

by Martin & Associates, the Baltimore-Washington corridor is also the fourth largest market in the nation. “They rank Northern Virginia fourth in retail sales,” Greco says

An added benefit is the fact that two-thirds of the U.S. population is located East of the Mississippi.

Another advantage is the fact MSC and Evergreen are the port’s two major users.

“The Port of Philadelphia does not have direct Asia services,” Greco adds.

rAil linkAGe

Significant for the Port of Baltimore is also CSX’s commitment to the National Gateway project. This project will give the Port of Baltimore a direct rail link to Northwest Ohio, much like the Norfolk Southern Heartland Corridor project to Columbus, Ohio gives VPA’s Port of Norfolk.

On May 18, CSX announced that it is investing $160 million over the next several years to

complete National Gateway. He particularly emphasized

the importance of investing in rail. “To match the potential of the 50 foot berth, we have to look at rail upgrades,” he said, adding how the state is working with CSX and its National Gateway Project.

“This will improve the use of double stack containers,” he emphasized.

“Through the National Gateway, CSX and its public partners are working together to vastly improve the quality and flexibility of the eastern rail network,” said Michael J. Ward, CSX chairman, president and chief executive officer in a press release at the time. “With today’s new $160 million commitment, CSX will have obligated a total of about $575 million over several years to better meet the needs of our customers, our states and our ports.”

The CSX National Gateway project is particularly significant for the Port of Baltimore in attracting steamship lines to the seaport. As Vance Bennett,

director, Intermodal Port Strategy for CSX’s Gateway Project, points out, there are certain key elements that make a port a strong contender.

“Ocean carriers look at a port’s infrastructure, such as a 50-foot draft at the channel and piers; population densities, as well as inland connectivity,” he says.

This connectivity includes not only an interstate highway system, but rail connectivity to inland markets.

Baltimore is at the convergence of the East-West Interstate 70 and North-South Interstate 95. The Port of Baltimore is also served by two Class I railroads – Norfolk Southern and CSX.

It is this rail connectivity that Bennett emphasizes will be key.

The National Gateway project, involves two major intermodal terminal facilities – one in Chambersburg, PA, which was completed in 2007; the other in North Baltimore, Ohio, which is slated for completion later this year. The North Baltimore project is significant for moving

cargo cheaply and quickly to markets beyond the East Coast.

“Railroads follow the population,” Bennett says. “With the National Gateway, Baltimore will be able to service the Ohio Valley and beyond to the West Coast.”

That’s because CSX offers connectivity to the Western railroads.

When completed, the Northwest Ohio Terminal Facility will be a 185-acre world-class freight distribution hub – and the nerve center of CSX’s nationwide intermodal network.

Like an air cargo hub, freight trains will arrive directly from all across the nation and its ports, then quickly and efficiently redistributed to a network of double stack trains to speed final delivery all across the eastern United States. Shippers will bypass choke points like Chicago and transform Northwest Ohio into a critical transportation center.

(GLOVES – continued on page 6)

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Northwest OhioCSX’s new intermodal hub located in Northwest Ohio will make you more competitive

from coast to coast and throughout the Midwest. As part of the National Gateway

initiative, it will provide faster and more reliable service – while its unique terminal

operating system with five wide span ultra-efficient cranes sets new standards in

productivity and environmental stewardship.

www.csxi.com

Contact your Intermodal Sales Representative or e-mail Intermodal_Sales@csx.com for more information.

4 American Journal of Transportation ajot.com

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Baltimore DCs handle types of products with national reach

By Karen E. Thuermer, AJOT

An undisputed strength of the Port of Baltimore is its community and variety of distri-bution centers (DCs) and ware-houses. Thanks to Baltimore’s geographic location between Washington, D.C., and Philadel-phia, and its rail and highway connections to markets such as New York City, Pittsburgh, and beyond, the port offers a good location for distribution.

In fact, during a recent seminar hosted by the Maryland Port Administration (MPA), Joe Greco, MPA deputy director of marketing, pointed to a number of dedicated DCs in Baltimore’s reach in Frederick County and Hagerstown, MD. Among them are Costco Wholesale Corp.’s DC in Frederick County, which serves markets in Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia, and a major DC for Toys R US.

Hagerstown, better known as “Hub” City, is home of one DC for Lenox, and one of four retail distribution centers for Staples.

GrowinG loCAl 3pl trADe

Over the years, the port has also spawned a number of ware-house and third party logistics (3PL) operators. Among them, Merchants Terminal Corpora-tion, or MTC Logistics, plays a major role for refrigerated products. The company, which offers warehousing and full logi-stics management, handles both imported and exported refrige-rated cargo. These include sea-food from China and Chile and exported U.S. poultry.

The company’s location less than one mile from Seagirt Marine Terminal gives it a com-petitive advantage, especially since MTC Logistics offers less-than-truckload (LTL) and local drayage. This means customers can shorten their logistics supply chain given that U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspec-tion services and outbound con-solidated transportation services are all within a stone’s throw of

the port. “We can turn containers

faster, which reduces exposure to demurrage,” says Brooks Royster, MTC Logistics vice president. “To the shipper or consignee, this also reduces inland transportation costs such as trucking, and allows for, depending on the terms of boo-king, reduced ocean freight.”

In August 2009, the com-pany opened a new warehouse, which uses 48 percent less energy per cubic foot than the warehouse it replaced.

Royster describes it as having 100,000 square feet of solar panels on its roof, thereby allowing the facility reduced electrical consumption off grid. In addition, the loading docks that receive refrigerated trucks are designed to allow the trailers to be backed in before opening the truck doors, thereby main-taining the integrity of the cold chain by ensuring security and wholesomeness throughout the loading or unloading process.

“Consequently, we are able to offer competitive rates to our customers,” he adds. “And, because of our proximity to Sea-girt, we can offer reduced local trucking costs.”

Royster reveals that this year the company is seeing more imports in general and a growth of exports in reefer products. He attributes this to the weak U.S. dollar making U.S. products competitive.

“Services the Port of Bal-timore offers to shippers and consignees also have a huge impact,” he adds.

For one, he explains, there is little congestion at Seagirt.

“Shippers and consignees can get access to containers faster and cheaper,” he says.

For now, everything is trucked, although shipments can be drayed to a rail facility.

Royster adds that CSX’s commitment to expand its Nati-onal Gateway project (see rela-

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Baltimore’s terminals show strength in cargo diversity

By Karen E. Thuermer, AJOT

The Port of Baltimore is a system of publically and privately operated terminals. Many are positioning themselves to create a stronger, more competitive port.

Top headlines have centered on Ports America, which is spending $100+ million on a new 50-foot berth at Seagirt Marine Terminal. That berth is already 50 percent completed, and is ahead of schedule and under budget.

“It will be fully operational two years or more before the Panama Canal widening project opens in 2014,” emphasizes Christopher Lee, managing director of Highstar Capital, the independent investment fund that owns Ports America Chesapeake and leases the Seagirt Marine Terminal at the Port of Baltimore.

As a result, shipping customers such as MSC and Evergreen will

be able to bring containers to the port in 12,000 TEU ships that right now can only call on the U.S. West Coast.

“Larger ships mean economies of scale, and all-water service to the East Coast means the end of cross-country rail trips,” Lee says. That translates to lower costs and travel time.

Ports America also operates a private container terminal within Dundalk Marine Terminal.

DunDAlk mArine terminAl

One of the strengths of the Port of Baltimore is its variety of terminals that handle everything from roll-on, roll-off (ro-ro) cargoes, to lumber, metals, food, and containerized freight.

Reaffirming the port’s position as the top U.S. ro-ro port, Baltimore recently signed a 20-year, 150-acre agreement to serve as the East Coast hub for

Wallenius Wilhelmsen, which will service Dundalk Marine Terminal.

Baltimore’s proximity to major farm and construction equipment manufacturers in the Midwest has helped the Port become the leading U.S. port for exporting combines, tractors and hay balers, and importing excavators and backhoes.

ACL calls at Dundalk every Thursday. Besides handling automobiles, the carrier is big on agriculture and construction equipment.

“We handle various standard trucks, special purpose trucks, and also long and high loads – things that don’t fit into containers,” says Bob Willman, ACL general manager of Ro Ro Services for North America.

ACL’s East Coast rotation is Halifax, Port of New York/New Jersey, Baltimore, Norfolk then

ACL calls at Dundalk every Thursday. Besides handling automobiles, the carrier is big on agriculture and construction equipment.

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august 15, �011 Maryland Ports 5

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Fredrik Elliasson, vice president for Emerging Markets, CSX, outlined that such a facility is necessary given the major changes that are occurring in the global supply chain.

One big trend, he points out, is the shift of manufacturing to Southeast Asia in places like Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia and India. This is causing an increase in shipping on the westbound lanes, thereby making the Suez Canal a more viable option for imported cargo coming directly to East Coast ports.

“The fact that we will offer a route that will be double stack cleared will add capacity and benefit customers,” he says. “By not going through Chicago, customers can cut transit times 24 to 48 hours and improve reliability.”

CSX does not offer double stack service out of the Port of Baltimore as of yet due to height restrictions in tunnels and under bridges along CSX tracks, he adds.

CSX has put up the remainder of capital to finance it, however, with a goal for completion in 2014,” he states.

(GLOVES – continued from page 3)

back to the European ports of Liverpool, Antwerp, Hamburg and Gothenburg.

“In Europe, we connect with our owner, Grimaldi Lines, which services Europe throughout the Mediterranean,” Willman says.

Recently, the carrier’s outbound trade from the United States picked up significantly after several years of the recession.

“We bounced back in 2010, and are now much stronger in 2011,” he says.

One of the keys to its success is its use of transshipments to help fill space and offer service to the trade.

ACL benefits from the Port of Baltimore because stevedores at Dundalk are “extremely dedicated and focused on the ro-ro trades,” Willman says.

wiDeninG Commitment

With 13 berths, nine container cranes, and direct rail access, the 570-acre Dundalk Marine Terminal remains the largest and most versatile general cargo facility at the Port of Baltimore. Several auto processors maintain operations at Dundalk.

Last year stevedoring company Ceres Terminals Inc. (CTI) signed a lease for 12 additional acres at Dundalk, the result of which attracted Hoegh Autoliners to move its vessel calls in its European Service to Dundalk from the port’s Fairfield terminal.

Hoegh brings ro-ro cargoes to the port, typically construction and farm equipment.

Ceres was already leasing 5 acres at Dundalk from the Maryland Port Administration (MPA).

Douglas N. Wolfe, port manager

at Ceres, explains that Ceres leased the additional acreage because the terminal operator recognized the opportunity to not only attract Hoegh Autoliners, but also to provide existing customers with a stronger cargo base in Baltimore.

“Ceres’ Dundalk Terminal gives our customers the ability to grow their shipper base by having more space where they could load/discharge additional cargoes,” Wolfe says. “After acquiring the Dundalk acreage and adding Hoegh Lines to our customer base, Ceres was also able to attract Liberty Lines.”

Liberty services the Middle East cargo sector.

Ceres also handles ro-ro and other cargo for “K” Line’s South America/Mid East Service vessels and NYK Line’s South America/Europe/Middle East Service vessels.

According to James J. White, MPA executive director, Ceres handles many of the world’s top ro-ro shipping lines. “We welcome their increased presence at the port,” he says.

To date, ro-ro volumes handled by Ceres through the terminal have seen an increase. For 2011, Ceres Marine Terminals has handled 77,376 total units; 6,372 of which included heavy machinery, farm equipment, and project cargoes that represented an increase of 20,000 units, or 35 percent.

Fiscal year 2010 volumes showed 57,091 units; 3,473 of this volume included heavy machinery/farm equipment/project cargoes.

As the North America’s premier cruise stevedore and terminal operator, Ceres

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august 15, �011 Maryland Ports �

• Foreign Trade Zone Operator

ted story on page 2) will have a big impact on MTC Logistics.

“Our breadbasket is the Midwest,” he remarks. “That’s predominately where our imported refrigerated cargos go. Having enhanced CSX capabilities will impact us a lot.”

Also having an impact on business is MTC’s February announcement of its joint venture partnership with Great Lakes Cold Logistics, an asset based trucking company affiliated with Great Lakes Cold Storage.

Great Lakes Cold Logistics owns and operates 40 some tractors and 55 refri-gerated trailers. With this partnership, MTC’s transportation division now beco-mes a Wal-Mart Authorized Consolida-tion Program.

CornuCopiA of GooDs

Warehousing and distribution activity in and around the Port of Baltimore indi-cate the cornucopia of product handled by the seaport.

OverfloWarehouse, for example, handles everything from food, lumber, dry goods, to metals. Overall, the company handles approximately 10,000 import/export containers each year.

“About 75 to 80 percent of what we do comes through the Port of Baltimore,” says Gary Timme, president of Overflo.

Metals include aluminum ingot that enter through Overflo’s foreign trade zone (FTZ), which it obtained this year.

Much of Overflo’s food items are imported canned and case goods. “These can be canned goods and case goods, which we ship as far away as California,” he says.

All in all, the company offers over 2 million square feet of space within a couple of miles from the Port of Balti-more.

In addition, Overflo offers full service transportation for local container drayer and outbound trucking. The company also manages rail, truck and container ship-ments, including oversized containers and shipments, US customs storage and hand-ling and alcohol beverage storage.

“Our trucking fleet delivers daily throughout the Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Virginia area, and we’ve developed relationships with other truckers and carriers for our customers that need goods delivered out-side our delivery area,” Timme adds.

nAtionwiDe reACh

Locust Industries, LTD, handles a variety of import and export cargoes. Among the imports, says Robert Connor, the company’s CEO and owner, are canned goods and furniture, many of which come from as far away as Taiwan, China, Japan, and India.

Other imports include wood products from Russia, as well as wood products for export that come from Kentucky, Pennsyl-vania, South Carolina and the East Coast.

“They arrive Locust via flat bed,” Connor says.

In addition, Locust provides domestic warehousing for furniture, and handles other commodities such as auto parts for both import and export.

The company’s operation is small with 51,000 square feet, 10 dock doors, and four CSX rail dock doors.

Overall, much of Locust Industries’ business is related to the Port of Balti-more.

“We are about 25 minutes to the port by truck, and it is all highway,” he says. “There’s easy access.”

The company’s location near Colum-bia and Glen Burnie, MD gives Locust – like the port – good access to the Washington, DC market.

In addition, Locust has accounts with companies as far away as the West Coast. In fact, it serves all 48 continuous states as a contract carrier.

Its Maryland location has rail access as well.

“We are CSX equipped and CSX served,” says Connor.

He points out that in two years CSX plans to move its CSX intermodal transfer container station from Seagirt to a loca-tion five miles or so from Locust.

“This means we will be doing more trucking between the port and the rail ramps,” he says.

In fact, on July 1, Locust entered into a joint venture agreement with AGX Intermodal of Wall, PA, to provide much needed capacity for container drayage between the Port of Baltimore and consi-gnees within a 500 radius of Baltimore.

“AGX will be dispatching trucks and drivers, and we will be doing marketing and selling,” he reports. “We also will use AGX to truck our containers from the port to the warehouse here.”

Customer proximity

Bowman Logistics handles a vari-ety of items such as packaging materials, lumber, and truck parts.

Truck parts, its biggest segment, are destined for the Volvo manufacturing operation in Hagerstown, MD, where Bowman also has a facility.

Bowman operates other DCs in India-napolis, IN, and Forest Park, GA.

“Our location in Hagerstown, 83

miles from the Port of Baltimore at the crossroads of Interstates 70 and 81, gives us an advantage,” remarks Dave Ebner, Chief Logistics Officer, Bowman Logi-stics. “In the case of Volvo, we are within two miles of their plant.”

For years, Bowman has handled lumber for a vendor who imports lumber through the Port of Baltimore in 40 foot containers for Lowes.

“We unload the shipment, and, depen-ding on its requirements, we may cross dock it, take it out of the container, put it on a flat bed and deliver to Lowe’s so that they have it in their inventory,” Ebner explains. “Or we may bring it in, add bar code labeling to each individual piece, and remove some of import packaging so that it is a cleaner unit for Lowes.”

The fact the Port of Baltimore is the closest port to the Midwest, is a plus.

Bowman’s Hagerstown DC, which is located within FTZ #255, offers over 1 million sq. ft. of warehouse space. The facility is not rail served, but it runs 325 of its own trucks through D.M. Bowman, Inc., a transportation, warehousing and logistics organization that was named as one of the Top 200 Carriers in the nation.

Giving Bowman an advantage is the company’s use of Logimax, a powerful and flexible third party logistics ware-

house management system. “It allows us to scan product as it

comes in with direct put away into ware-house,” he says. “It also forms a variety of functions and value added services. It gives customers a 24/7 ready access to what their inventory is.”

This is particularly advantageous for Bowman customers such as Volvo given relationships with overseas suppliers.

“Logimax gives everyone access to find out how many widgets we have in our inventory,” Ebner explains.

Another advantage, transportation and warehouse are under one roof.

“That gives us the ability to offer a one stop shop, rather than going out and sourcing the services needed,” he says.

well estAblisheD

Belt’s Corp. has been in operation since 1845, making it one of the oldest and largest warehousing and distribution companies in the United States.

Strategically located in the I-95 Bal-timore-Washington corridor close to the Port of Baltimore, Belt’s offers a combi-nation of in-house capabilities, and U.S. Customs and FTZ services

“This allows us to deliver one-stop, tailored solutions designed specifically to

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(REACH – continued from page 4)

� American Journal of Transportation ajot.com

also handles Royal Caribbean and Carnival Cruise Lines, along with baggage and vessel storing, in the Port of Baltimore with over 100 calls per annum.

“We are pleased to report that passenger volumes have remained steady and cruise passengers are very happy with the Ceres/Port of Baltimore Partnership,” Wolfe adds.

Ceres has maintained a presence in the Port of Baltimore since 1979.

“We can attribute our success to the operation of the port and its constant investment in its infrastructure, keeping vessels and cargo moving and attracting more business,” he remarks.

Wolfe points out that the Port of Baltimore’s strategic location, outstanding highway access and modern intermodal rail service has a favorable effect on the rail delivery of high and heavy cargo and auto movements for present and further export demands. He adds that Maryland’s Department

of Transportation’s continued investment in upgrading the State’s major roadways serving the port, also improves trucker access for pickup and delivery of ro-ro cargos. Consequently, truckers are able to reach 35 percent of America’s manufacturing base and 32 percent of its population overnight.

“This is a win-win situation for Ceres and our customers,” Wolfe concludes.

vAriety of CArGo

Dundalk’s direct rail access provided by Norfolk Southern and CSXT, combined with Dundalk’s size, makes the terminal ideal for handling large break bulk and project cargo. The terminal’s expansive covered storage space can easily house weather-sensitive cargoes such as high-quality steel coils, raw rubber and wood pulp, one of the fastest-growing cargoes at the port.

BalTerm, a leading handler of imported forest products, leases space at the Dundalk Terminal and South Locust Point Marine Terminal.

Old Dominion opens container drayage facility in MD

Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. has announced the opening of a new container drayage site to serve all ports and container yards in the Baltimore area.

The new site – the third new container drayage facil-ity Old Dominion has opened this year – will offer pick-up and delivery to any point in the continental United States. The strategic location, which complements Old Dominion’s services in its existing Baltimore Service Center, will allow the company to access key manu-facturing areas in the Midwest and to reach approximately one-third of the U.S. population in an overnight drive.

Old Dominion container drayage services include direct point-to-point delivery, load-ing, unloading, short term ware-housing and container pools for the convenience of import and export shippers.

“The Baltimore site responds to growing customer

demand and expands our cover-age on the East Coast in close proximity to traditional drayage markets served by Old Domin-ion,” said Wayne Bersch, Direc-tor of Container Operations for Old Dominion.

Old Dominion has been operating container drayage for more than 50 years and offers direct services from 12 cities in addition to Baltimore: Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Mem-phis, Tenn.; Mobile, Ala.; Nor-folk, Va.; Wilmington, N.C.; Charlotte, N.C.; Charleston, S.C.; Savannah, Ga.; Huntsville, Ala. and Jacksonville, Fla.

In 2010, Old Dominion container drayage grew by 35 percent, and the company con-tinues to see strong growth in 2011. The company opened the Memphis and Mobile container drayage facilities during the second quarter. Old Dominion expects to open additional con-tainer drayage locations in the near future.

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Governor O’Malley announces Port of Baltimore moves up in national rankings

Governor Martin O’Malley announced that the Port of Baltimore continues to demonstrate tremen-dous progress despite a challenging global econ-omy. Buoyed by a strong year in 2010, the Port of Baltimore now ranks 11th nationally (up from 12th) for the total dollar value of cargo and 13th (up from 15th) for the amount of cargo tonnage handled, according to recent statistics released by the U.S. Census. There are roughly 360 ports in the United States. In calendar year 2010, the total dollar value of cargo coming through the Port of Baltimore was $41.5 billion, a 37 percent jump from 2009, while the amount of foreign commerce through the Port’s public and private terminals was 33 million tons, a 47 percent increase from the previous year.

“The Port’s public-private partnership that we entered into in 2009 is helping us make progress by creating and saving jobs in this new economy,” said Governor O’Malley. “We are pleased that the Port continues to move up in rankings as companies around the world realize that Baltimore provides a quality gateway for doing business.”

Among individual commodities, the Port of Baltimore jumped to number one for trucks (ranked second in 2009), imported salt (sixth in 2009), and imported iron ore (second in 2009). Baltimore remained the number one port in the nation for han-

dling 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.

“While a more favorable worldwide economic climate is a contributing factor, the Port of Bal-timore has also been able to rebound because of its high productivity, outstanding labor, and geo-graphic advantage placing us closer to the Mid-west 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.”

Through the first six months of 2011 com-pared to the first six months of 2010, general cargo through the Port’s public marine terminals is up 14 percent. Among cargos, roll on/roll off is up 51 percent, autos are up 10 percent, containers are up nine percent, and paper is up six percent.

Activities at the Port of Baltimore generate about 16,700 direct jobs, while about 120,000 jobs in Mary-land are linked to Port activities. The Port is respon-sible for $3.7 billion in personal wages and salary and nearly $400 million in state and local taxes.

fit your needs,” comments John Redding, senior vice president, Belt’s Logistics.

The company handles customs bonded shipments, including high volume com-modities. With about 600,000 square feet of warehouse space, the company also handles a vari-ety of consumer goods, food products, including beverages, alcohol and tobacco.

“Some sensitive products are temperature controlled,” Redding explains.

Belt’s, a third party logistics provider, is particularly known for supplying on-time, on-budget and on-demand performance.

“We are extremely sensi-tive about inventory control,” he explains. “We, handle accor-dingly, using key performance indicators (KPIs) to manage our customers business so that they are performing up to their standards.”

Generally, Redding finds that the reason the Port of Bal-timore is a very good logistical seaport is that it is further inland than any other East Coast port that serves the Midwest.

“The port is also extremely responsive to all clients for quickly turning around contai-ners off the vessels and out the gates to their dock,” he adds.

Much of the product Belt’s handles is imported, and is transported from its facility to destinations as far away as Cali-fornia. While Belt’s transports most shipments by truck, Red-ding reveals that the company also uses some piggy back rail.

“But most is trucked with some intermodal on rail,” he adds.

Consequently, CSX’s Nati-onal Gateway project that will eventually offer double stack rail from the Port of Baltimore to Northwest Ohio will be a benefit to Belt’s.

(REACH – continued from page 7)

“We lease all of our facilities from MPA,” comments Tripp Bailey, BalTerm president.

From there, BalTerm services customers in the Midwest, New England, Canada, and the South East.

The company currently controls over 1.1 million square feet of warehouse space specifically designed for handling forest products. It is adjacent to deep-water berths.

At Dundalk, the company handles primarily wood pulp and cargoes from Brazil. From here, 80 percent of the product is shipped by rail; 20 percent by truck.

Locust Point handles mainly paper for fine papers, magazines, catalogs, and the like, most of which comes from Scandinavia and Northern Europe. According to Bailey, 80 percent is shipped via truck; 20 percent by rail.

Ships carrying paper arrive weekly. Two lines transporting wood pulp arrive monthly -- sometimes more often, Bailey

adds. BalTerm’s location at

the port offers customers cost savings.

“We are very close to receivers, be it printers or the mills that receive our product,” he says. “The fact the Port of Baltimore is further up the Chesapeake Bay, also reduces inland transportation costs.”

Another advantage is BalTerm’s exclusive stevedoring company, Tartan Terminals.

“Wood product is a sensitive cargo that you have to be careful at handling,” Bailey states.

Over 180 dedicated employees are extensively trained in the specialized needs of the forest products industry.

“We also very good facilities here that are new and clean,” he adds.

Those encompass 416,000 square feet at Dundalk and 850,000 square feet at Locust Point.

privAte terminAls

American Roll-on Roll-Off Carrier (ARC), NYK, and

Wallenius Wilhelmsen Lines are among the lines currently utilizing Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL) Mid Atlantic Terminal (MAT). The terminal has ample capacity to handle additional carriers.

Norfolk Southern and CSX Transportation provide on-site service to the terminal. MAT is also served by over 80 intermodal carriers, plus 35 specialized flatbed, and 20 over-dimensional carriers.

According to company officials, MAT is experiencing a return of cargo volumes across all ro-ro sectors, most notably in the construction segment.

“That sector has dramatically recovered from 2009 and 2010 volumes,” comments a WWL spokesperson. “Both the agriculture segment and new car segments have shown continued strong growth through 2011. Import volumes are a bit more robust than exports, but not by much.”

august 15, �011 Maryland Ports 9

2011-06-10_BaltiCarrier_leaflet.pdf 1 10-6-2011 15:36:34

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Officials add that MAT is also experiencing a recovery in break bulk with increased project cargo from the Far East, as well as machinery and transformers from Germany.

“The terminal is well situated to store and distribute this cargo because of its on-dock warehousing and rail facilities,” they say. “An on-dock 250MT crane also keeps costs down for customers moving large pieces through the facility.”

Currently, MAT is working closely with the MPA to grow cargo associated within the sustainable energy sector as that shipping segment grows.

As for new developments, new green initiatives have been enacted at MAT, such as new storm water filters, on-demand hot water heaters, electric yard cars, electric forklifts and dedicated parking spots for alternate fuel vehicles. Many new projects are in development as well.

“And as cargo volumes are recovering, there is an intense operational focus,” say the officials. MAT has also grown its service offerings recently with the ability to wash used cargo, and provide shrink-wrapping and barge/railcar loading.

breAk bulk & bulk

Last year Rukert Terminals Corp., a family owned bulk and break bulk terminal and warehousing company, completed dredging and construction of a new 1,000 foot pier with 50 feet of dredge depth at Lazaretto Point on the Patapsco River across from Fort McHenry.

“This gives us the largest multi-purpose berth in Baltimore,” says John L. Coulter, president, Rukert Terminals.

Most significant, the pier is at least twice as strong as deemed necessary.

Other improvements include a 23-story high mobile harbor crane, the largest on the U.S. East Coast.

The terminal handles a variety of products for export, including John Deere tractors, Caterpillar equipment, tractor trailers, and containers going to Russia and South Africa. On the import side, bulk products include salt from Chile and Mexico; magnetite from China and Australia; coal from South America; limestone from the Bahamas; and ferro chrome, ferro manganese, and silico manganese from South Africa. Break bulk products include calcium chloride from China,

(DIVERSITY – continued from page 8)

aluminum from Russia, lumber from China, plywood from Russia and China, lead from China, nickel from France, steel from Russia, rebar from Turkey, wind towers from China, and carbon anodes from China.

“Approximately 70 percent of what we handle is for import; 30 percent, export,” reveals Coulter.

Most is shipped bulk and break bulk.

“Only the ferro alloys come from South Africa in containers,” says Coulter. “Break bulk usually arrives in 5,000 to 10,000 ton shipments in a break bulk vessel. Occasionally customers will ship break bulk via container, but only if the shipper cannot secure a break bulk vessel.”

Helping move the shipments, the terminal is served by Norfolk Southern, CSX, and short line Canton Railroad. Some 3,000 railcars are shipped annually, hauling some 200,000

to 300,000 tons. Approximately 150 truck

loads leave the terminal a day. These shipments total 1.75 million tons per year, and go to locations such as Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, and south to Alabama, Kentucky, and the Carolinas.

Coulter sees a host of advantages to Rukert Terminals’ location at Baltimore. For one, Baltimore has a huge geographic advantage over other East Coast ports in that it is already 175 miles inland and closer to the Heartland.

“Although it may take ocean vessels 12 hours to transit up the Chesapeake Bay and back, the inland freight savings pays customers back several times over,” he says. “There’s also excellent truck availability in Baltimore with I-95, the main north/south East Coast highway and I-70, the main east/west highway, both terminating in Baltimore.”

continued equipment shift toward domestic containers. Domestic intermodal’s strong pace was bolstered by a steep rise in diesel prices that likely made it more cost-effective for shippers to shift freight off the highway.

International intermodal volumes during the quarter increased 5.4% year-over-year. While this is the slowest rate of international growth since late 2009, it should be noted that previous quar ters benefited from weak comparisons. International shipments also would likely have been higher were it not for the disasters in Japan that reduced the volume of Japanese imports.

(SURGE – continued from page 1)