Baltimore: General cargo down, containers up

Baltimore: General cargo down, containers up    The Port of Baltimore said that although overall general cargo volumes fell 2 percent in the fiscal year ending June 30, container, automobile, and pulp volumes were up.
   “The improved performance of some of our key cargos at the Port of Baltimore's public terminals is a positive sign as we continue to bounce back from the worst economic period since the Great Depression,' said Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley. '2009 was a very tough year for the maritime industry, but the Port of Baltimore has been able to maintain a solid position.”
   The port said general cargo volume was 9.1 million tons. Container tonnage rose 2 percent to nearly 6.7 million tons. The port said volumes improved in the first six months of 2010, when general cargo volumes rose 8 percent over the same 2009 period.
   During the fiscal year, the port handled 658,713 tons of automobiles, a 26 percent increase. Baltimore benefited from BMW’s decision to import 50,000 cars per year through the port and new business from Ford — Ford Fiestas imported from Mexico and exports of Ford’s Transit Connect Van, port spokesman Richard Scher said.
   Pulp also had good growth last year to 482,977 tons, 13 percent more than in the prior fiscal year. The port said those volumes were offset by lower amounts of paper and heavier roll-on/roll-off cargo, though the port said it is still the leading port in the nation for those two commodities as well as bulk products such as sugar and gypsum. The port is also the third-largest U.S. export center for coal, behind Norfolk and Mobile.
   Scher said work is proceeding on a 50-foot berth at Seagirt Terminal, which is operated by Ports America and includes Mediterranean Shipping Co. and Evergreen as tenants. He said work is to be completed by 2012, two years in advance of the widened Panama Canal.