Port of Baltimore Posts 12.2% Volume Increase for July

The Port of Baltimore became the latest East Coast port to announce higher summer shipment volumes, posting a 12.2% increase in July over the same month last year.

The Maryland Port Administration said that 76,529 industry-standard 20-foot container units, or TEUs, were moved through its facilities. On a month-to-month basis, shipments fell about 5% from June, when a year-to-date record volume was set at 79,644 TEUs.

In recent weeks, ports including New York/New Jersey, the nation’s third busiest, and Savannah, Georgia, have released reports that signaled cargo volumes through East Coast ports are continuing to show market share gains compared with West Coast counterparts. Those gains began when cargo disruptions increased in the months leading up to the West Coast labor settlement.

For example, New York/New Jersey showed a 14% gain, and Savannah increased shipments 10%.

Inna Kuznetsova, president of Inttra Marketplace, a consulting firm, told Transport Topics the shift in freight between coasts should continue.

“We continue to see greater interest in evaluating ports, trade lanes and carriers from a reliability standpoint. Both the freight forwarders and direct shippers look at the historical differences between estimated and actual arrival, departure and transportation time to reduce risks and potential costs associated with late shipments,” she said.

Records continue to fall for the .@portofbalt ! During FY 2015 the POB moved more than 9.7 million #tons of #cargo n 800k 20-ft containers! — Port of Baltimore (@portofbalt) September 4, 2015