In 2025 the Port of Baltimore handled 887,513 tons of ro-ro farm and construction machinery, up 6 percent and the most of any port in the United States. Caterpillar has been the port’s top equipment OEM by tonnage. If you import tractors, excavators, combines, loaders or cranes, this is the lane. The trouble starts on the landside. A machine that is 15 feet high cannot enter either Baltimore harbor tunnel, needs a permit and an escort, and may wait on the terminal while someone works that out. Baltimore 3PL works it out before the ship docks.
How this cargo moves through the Port of Baltimore
High and heavy ro-ro cargo discharges at Dundalk Marine Terminal, the port’s 570-acre ro-ro and breakbulk terminal. Dundalk has 13 berths, 93 acres reserved for ro-ro machinery, 300-long-ton and 550-short-ton mobile heavy-lift cranes and a heavy rail spur rated for 71,500 pounds per axle. MPA lists farm and construction equipment, project cargo and steel coils among the terminal’s core cargoes. Wallenius Wilhelmsen operates a 150-acre East Coast hub at Dundalk under a 20-year agreement.
Rail matters here. Dundalk has direct Norfolk Southern service, CSX through an interchange and a unit-train machinery yard. The Howard Street Tunnel double-stack project finished in June 2026, giving CSX full double-stack clearance from the port to the Midwest. That helps containerized parts and attachments, not only the machines themselves.
Oversize units that arrive on flat racks or as breakbulk are discharged by the terminal’s heavy-lift cranes and handled by stevedores such as Mid-Atlantic Terminals and Ceres. Rukert Terminals, a private breakbulk and project cargo terminal, is another discharge point for heavy pieces. See Dundalk Marine Terminal for the terminal detail.
What we set up for heavy equipment shippers
- Vessel tracking and release. We confirm discharge, customs release and terminal availability, then schedule the pickup.
- Heavy-haul drayage. Lowboy, step-deck and RGN carrier partners sized to the machine. Our drayage desk books the trailer, not the other way round.
- Permits, escorts and routing. Maryland oversize permits, pilot cars where required and a route that respects the tunnel limits.
- Staging and dealer prep. Partner yards and warehouses near Dundalk and Sparrows Point hold units until the dealer or job site is ready. Attachments, decals and fluid checks are handled through kitting partners.
- Rail to the Midwest. Unit-train and single-car loading at Dundalk through our intermodal rail desk for dealers in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois.
- Breakbulk and project pieces. Crane lifts, cribbing and multi-piece reassembly coordinated through our project cargo and breakbulk partners.
What the partner network brings
Fifty years of partners. One phone number. Baltimore 3PL does not own a yard, a lowboy or a crane. We are a service-area logistics company, and every machine we move in Baltimore runs through a partner network we have curated for 50 years: ro-ro stevedores, heavy-haul carriers, riggers, rail loading crews, forwarders and licensed customs brokers. The desk picks the partner whose equipment and permits fit the machine. Because there is no fleet to fill, the right truck wins every time. Customs clearance is coordinated through our licensed customs broker partners. You get daily status by email and a reply to any question within one business day.
Oversize routing after the Key Bridge
The Francis Scott Key Bridge carried I-695 across the Patapsco River until it collapsed on March 26, 2024. The replacement is not expected to open before late 2030. In the meantime, every cross-harbor truck uses the I-95 Fort McHenry Tunnel or the I-895 Harbor Tunnel, and those tunnels refuse loads over 14 ft 6 in high or 11 ft wide. Most agricultural and construction machines on a lowboy exceed one or both limits.
The legal route is the west side of the I-695 loop, which adds about 30 to 35 miles and 45 to 60 minutes per move. Three planning rules follow:
- Dundalk to Sparrows Point or the I-95 North corridor (Harford, Cecil) never needed the bridge. These moves stay short.
- Dundalk to the BWI side, Anne Arundel or anywhere down I-97 takes the full loop. We quote the loop, not the tunnel, so the number holds.
- Permit windows and escort rules apply on top of the detour. The desk books both with the carrier partner so the machine does not sit on the terminal waiting for paperwork.
Our Key Bridge truck routing guide lays out the limits and the loop in detail. For long inland moves, remember the geography: Seagirt to Pittsburgh is about 250 road miles, Columbus 420, Detroit 525 and Chicago 700, and Baltimore is the closest Atlantic port to all of them.
What to send for a quote
- Make, model and count of machines, with shipping dimensions and weight for each
- Arrival vessel and terminal, and whether units are driven, towed or crated
- Destination by city, dealer or job site, with any delivery date
- Rail or truck preference for Midwest destinations
- Attachments, crates or containers moving with the machines
- Staging time needed before delivery
Send the list to operations@sams3pl.com or use the quote form. You get a reply within one business day.
Questions shippers ask
01Why does so much farm and construction equipment come through Baltimore?
Baltimore is the closest Atlantic port to the Midwest and has a ro-ro terminal built for high and heavy cargo. In 2025 it handled 887,513 tons of ro-ro machinery, the most of any US port.
02Can a tracked excavator or a combine use the Baltimore tunnels?
Usually not. Loads over 14 ft 6 in high or 11 ft wide may not use the I-95 or I-895 tunnels and must loop the west side of I-695. We plan the loop, the permits and the escorts before the truck is booked.
03Do you handle machinery that arrives in pieces or on flat racks?
Yes. Dundalk has 300-long-ton and 550-short-ton mobile heavy-lift cranes for breakbulk and project pieces. Our breakbulk partners discharge, stage and reload onto the right trailer.
04Can equipment go inland by rail instead of truck?
Yes. Dundalk has direct Norfolk Southern service, a unit-train machinery yard and CSX through an interchange. For Midwest dealers, rail often beats a long permitted truck move.
05Do you own the yard where machines are staged?
No. We stage equipment at partner yards and partner warehouses near Dundalk and Sparrows Point. You get one accountable desk, and the desk gets the right yard for the machine.