DUNDALK, Md. — The Port of Baltimore had its second-best year ever in 2024, even after the Key Bridge collapse halted port activity for months. Governor Wes Moore and the Maryland Port Administration made that announcement this week, which comes on the heels of the “2025 Ports Report,” published annually by a global real estate firm, Savills.
In that report, the analysts found that although the bridge collapse caused a "significant disruption" to the Port of Baltimore, the future looks bright.
“You still have a lot of strengths in the market for the Port of Baltimore,” Gregg Healy, executive vice president and head of industrial services at Savills, told WMAR-2 News on Thursday.
Healy says port activity ramped up across North America last year. Savills’ report found that in 2024, all major ports saw increases in their container volume except for two: Montreal and, you guessed it, Baltimore.
"About 1/3 of the year was lost, and 32% of the volume was decreased," Healy said of the bridge collapse disruption. "It also decreased the ranking in Baltimore's profile nationally. They were ranked 14th; they went to 15th when it comes to volume of containers."
But the port seems to have made up for lost time. Governor Moore announced Wednesday that the port handled nearly 46 million tons of cargo in 2024, making it the second-best year ever.
Port of Baltimore had a great year even after the bridge collapse
Healy says Baltimore was already on the upswing in 2023, after labor challenges in New Jersey brought more cargo into the Patapsco. That proved to be a record year, with the Port of Baltimore handling more than 52 million tons of cargo. Then, even with a three-month disruption in 2024, the port benefited from the same surge in activity that ports across the country saw too.
“What we saw in the 4th quarter of last year, we saw a ramping up of activity as people were moving goods into the U.S earlier, kinda pushing them ahead, because of fear of tariffs being implemented,” Healy said. Ports also saw a lot of activity from Chinese third-party logistics companies. “They’re saying, ‘we want to get ahead of this. We’re concerned that there could be some challenges and headwinds ahead.’ So they were placing inventory forward so they would be in a better position, just in case something were to change. And obviously we’re seeing some changes already happen. So that’s something we’re keeping a close eye on.”
Healy says things are looking up for the Port of Baltimore. Major investments made last year in the Seagirt Marine Terminal and the Howard Street Tunnel project should increase capacity. An upcoming six-year deal with the longshoremen's union should create stability, signaling to cargo companies that this is a safe place to bring your business.
“Other real key assets you have going for you are - the cost of warehousing is 40% less than New Jersey, just up the street really. And you have a better labor pool also in the Baltimore region than the Port of Virginia, also Charleston, and Savannah. So the fundamentals are very good for Baltimore. You had just a blip in the radar really this past year.”
Looking ahead, Healy said consumer demand is something his company will be watching: “If we see inflation going to tick up - manufacturing might be increasing, but if that consumer demand decreases, we might be having a different conversation next year."
