In 2026 the Port of Baltimore opened a grain transloading facility at Seagirt Marine Terminal: four acres, three silos, 60,000 bushels of storage and capacity to load more than 200 export containers a week, with short-line rail to both CSX and Norfolk Southern. For Mid-Atlantic growers, grain merchants and feed exporters, that is a new door to overseas buyers without trucking to another port. The problem it does not solve is coordination. A truck arrives before the container is booked, a container is booked before the phytosanitary document is ready, or the vessel cutoff passes while the paperwork sits in someone’s inbox. Baltimore 3PL lines the pieces up from one desk.
How this cargo moves through the Port of Baltimore
Export grain and agricultural product moves through Seagirt, the port’s container terminal, which handled a record 1,113,309 TEU in 2025 and offers 15 weekly container services. Bulk grain arrives at the transload facility by truck or rail, goes into the silos and is loaded into export containers that move a short distance to the vessel. The facility is operated by Ports America Chesapeake exclusively for Frey Commodities. Palletized and bagged agricultural product, including feed, seed, specialty crops and packaged food, is stuffed into containers at partner docks near the port and drayed to Seagirt.
The import side is just as large. Baltimore is the No. 1 US port for ro-ro farm and construction machinery, with 887,513 tons in 2025 discharged at Dundalk Marine Terminal, the ro-ro and breakbulk terminal with direct Norfolk Southern rail. Tractors, combines and sprayers that land here reach dealers across the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, and Baltimore is the closest Atlantic port to the Midwest. Read the Seagirt page and the Dundalk page for the terminals.
What we set up for agriculture and grain shippers
- Export container programs. Vessel bookings through our freight forwarding partners, container pickup and return through our drayage desk, and cutoff tracking so the box makes the ship. See freight forwarding.
- Transload coordination. Inbound trucks and rail cars scheduled against the facility’s receiving windows, with the container loading plan confirmed before the first delivery.
- Container stuffing for packaged product. Bagged, tote and palletized product loaded at partner transloading docks with fumigation and inspection coordinated where required.
- Export documents. Commercial invoice, packing list and certificate requirements coordinated with the forwarder and with licensed customs broker partners.
- Rail inbound. Grain and feed arriving by CSX or Norfolk Southern coordinated through our intermodal rail desk.
- Farm machinery imports. Terminal pickup, heavy-haul drayage and dealer delivery through our ro-ro logistics desk.
- Daily status by email. Trucks received, containers loaded, bookings confirmed and vessels sailed.
What the partner network brings
No fleet to fill, so the right truck wins every time. Baltimore 3PL is a service-area logistics company. We do not own a silo, a dock, a truck or a container in Baltimore. Every agricultural move runs through a partner network we have curated for 50 years: transload operators, container stuffing crews, drayage carriers, rail loading crews, forwarders and licensed customs brokers. You get one accountable desk, and the desk gets the right partner for the lane. We are not a customs broker. Customs clearance and export filings are coordinated through our licensed customs broker partners. Call (419) 745-9492 or email operations@sams3pl.com, Monday to Friday, 07:00 to 18:00 Eastern.
Why Baltimore for grain now
Three things changed in 2025 and 2026.
- The transload facility exists. Ground broke in April 2026 and MPA described the facility as open by September 2026. Growers and merchants in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Virginia can now containerize grain at the port instead of trucking it to a distant export elevator.
- Double-stack rail reached the port. The Howard Street Tunnel reopened in September 2025 and the double-stack ribbon-cutting followed on June 22, 2026. CSX now has full double-stack clearance between Baltimore and the Midwest, and MPA expects about 160,000 more containers a year. Empty containers that once were scarce in Baltimore have a stronger reason to come here. Read the double-stack page.
- Fifteen weekly services call Seagirt. More sailings mean more cutoff options when a harvest or a buyer’s schedule moves.
The practical gain for an exporter is control of the last 100 miles. A truckload of grain from the Eastern Shore or the Pennsylvania line can be tipped into a silo at Seagirt and sail within the week, with one desk watching the cutoff.
What to send for a quote
- Commodity and form: bulk grain, bagged, tote or palletized product
- Monthly or seasonal volume in tons, bushels or containers
- Origin: farm, elevator or plant location, and whether it ships by truck or rail
- Destination country and buyer requirements, including any fumigation or certificate
- Preferred sailing schedule or buyer delivery window
- Whether you already hold a contract with the grain transload operator
- For imports: machinery list with dimensions, weights and dealer destinations
Send it to operations@sams3pl.com or use the quote form. You get a reply within one business day.
Questions shippers ask
01What is the new grain facility at Seagirt?
A four-acre transload facility with three silos and 60,000 bushels of storage, operated by Ports America Chesapeake for Frey Commodities. It loads more than 200 export containers a week and has short-line rail to both CSX and Norfolk Southern.
02Can you book the ocean container for an export shipment?
Yes. Export bookings are placed through our freight forwarding partners, and export documents are coordinated with them and with licensed customs broker partners. We do not act as the customs broker ourselves.
03Do you also handle farm machinery imports?
Yes. Baltimore is the No. 1 US port for ro-ro farm and construction machinery, with 887,513 tons in 2025 at Dundalk. See our heavy equipment page for the landside service.
04Can grain and feed arrive by rail?
The Seagirt grain facility has short-line rail access to CSX and Norfolk Southern, and the Howard Street Tunnel now clears double-stack trains. We coordinate the rail move with the facility operator and the carrier.
05Do you own the transload facility?
No. The grain facility is operated by Ports America Chesapeake for Frey Commodities. We coordinate your freight into and out of partner facilities and give you one accountable desk.