Auto imports continue to surge at port of Baltimore

The port of Baltimore’s business as the nation’s No. 1 point of entry for automobiles continued to boom in 2015 as the number of cars shipped through its public terminals surged 20 percent to yet another record.

Shippers imported 399,618 cars last year, up from 331,746 in 2014, the Maryland Port Administration announced Wednesday. Overall, 753,265 vehicles moved through the port, the highest volume among U.S. ports for the fifth consecutive year.

The port also broke a record for shipping containers, handling 523,848 shipping containers, up 8 percent from the previous record set in 2014, but general cargo tonnage dipped slightly to 9.6 million tons from last year’s record of 9.7 million tons.

“The port of Baltimore is one of the nation’s busiest ports, as well as one of Maryland’s leading economic engines,” Gov. Larry Hogan said in a statement.

The port began receiving weekly container shipments from the international shipping giant Maersk Line last year, and it signed a 30-year contract with Wallenius Wilhelmson Logistics, a major vehicle and farm and construction equipment shipper.

Overall, Baltimore saw 32.4 million tons of international cargo — valued at approximately $51.1 billion — cross the docks of its public and private marine terminals last year. It ranked ninth among U.S. ports for the total dollar value of cargo and 13th for cargo tonnage, the port administration said.

Bucking a national decline, coal exports from Baltimore jumped 10 percent, the port administration said.