Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore's public terminals shipped a record 9.74 million tons of general cargo in the 2015 fiscal year ending June 30, it said Monday. That was up about 1.5 percent from 9.6 million tons in 2014.
General cargo includes automobiles, forest products, farm equipment and construction machinery. It also includes containers, a key point of emphasis lately for port officials trying to grow traffic.
The new records include: most general cargo tons in a fiscal year at 9,742,050 tons. General cargo includes containers, autos, roll on/roll off (farm and construction machinery), forest products, and break-bulk cargo.
The port also set a high water mark for most general cargo tons in the first six months of a calendar year at 4,881,105 tons. The port also set two records for 20-foot equivalent units.
Container shipping set a record of its own over the 12 months ending in June. The port shipped 808,500 20-foot equivalent units, or TEUs, during the year ending in June. The previous record for a rolling 12-month span was 794,793 TEUs, set between June 2014 and May 2015.
Governor Larry Hogan today praised the Port and all its employees for moving more cargo from the public marine terminals than in any other time in its history, demonstrating the strength of this economic engine for Maryland.
“This administration is committed to changing Maryland for the better and ensuring our state is open for business and nowhere is that more true than at the Port of Baltimore,” Governor Larry Hogan said. “Our Port continues to prove why it is one of the top-producing ports in the nation and one of Maryland’s leading economic engines. In my first six months as governor, the Port of Baltimore has thrived, moving 4.88 million tons of general cargo to and from our state’s shores – the most in any other first six months in history.”