The county that wraps the port
Baltimore County surrounds Baltimore City on three sides and holds the port’s east shore. Dundalk Marine Terminal, the ro-ro and breakbulk terminal, and the Tradepoint Atlantic private port at Sparrows Point are both in the county. Seagirt Marine Terminal, the container terminal, sits on the city line a few minutes away. Baltimore County East, with the city, has about 1.1 million square feet of industrial space under construction, the largest port-adjacent pipeline in the region. The Baltimore metro market absorbed 563,000 square feet in the third quarter of 2026 and vacancy fell to 8.9 percent.
We do not own a building in the county. We coordinate the partner warehouses, cross-dock operators and drayage carriers who do, from Dundalk to White Marsh and north to Hunt Valley. One desk books it all.
Getting there from the pier
The county’s freight belt runs northeast from the Seagirt gate along I-95, I-695 and US 40, the Pulaski Highway. Dundalk is about 2 miles. Sparrows Point is about 6 miles along the shore. Essex, Rosedale, Middle River and White Marsh sit 8 to 15 miles out, about 15 to 30 minutes. The whole east side is on the same side of the harbor as the terminals, so no bridge and no tunnel stands between a Seagirt container and a Rosedale dock.
The Key Bridge was the county’s own crossing. It carried I-695 from Sparrows Point over the Patapsco until March 26, 2024. Until the rebuild opens in late 2030, any east-side load bound for the county’s west side, for Anne Arundel County or for BWI crosses through the I-95 Fort McHenry Tunnel or the I-895 Harbor Tunnel. Hazmat and loads over 14 feet 6 inches high or 11 feet wide may not use either tunnel. They loop the west side of I-695, about 30 to 35 extra miles and 45 to 60 minutes. The Key Bridge routing guide covers it.
Industrial parks and who is there
Tradepoint Atlantic is the anchor: 3,300 acres, more than 15 million square feet leased, Amazon in two buildings, Under Armour, FedEx Ground, Home Depot, Floor & Decor, Harley-Davidson, the Volkswagen and Pasha vehicle operations, the Anduril shipyard announced in October 2026 and the Sparrows Point Container Terminal opening its first berth in 2028. Our Sparrows Point page covers it in detail. The Broening Highway corridor links Dundalk Marine Terminal to the Seagirt gate, lined with transload and warehouse partners. Essex, Rosedale, Middle River and White Marsh form the I-95 and I-695 northeast industrial belt, the county’s mid-box and cross-dock market. Hunt Valley, north on I-83, is the McCormick headquarters, a $170 million campus opened in 2018. Towson is an office and university market with no freight role.
Data centers are on hold. The county council mapped about 2,600 acres east of Pulaski Highway and south of Liberty Road for data centers in December 2025, then extended its moratorium on new applications through December 31, 2027. Data center construction inbound is a Frederick and I-70 corridor service for us, staged from the port, not a Baltimore County one.
What we run in Baltimore County
Warehousing: partner buildings from Dundalk to White Marsh hold e-commerce and retail and CPG inventory minutes from the pier, with overflow space when a Sparrows Point campus runs full. Cross-docking: east-side partner docks turn a Seagirt import into outbound trailers the same day, so the container returns and demurrage never starts. Drayage: the shortest dray in the port. Our carrier partners work the Broening Highway lane daily and plan the I-695 loop when a load must cross the harbor.
Ro-ro logistics partners support the automotive yards at Dundalk and Sparrows Point. Cold chain partners serve the food and beverage shippers around Hunt Valley.
FTZ 74 and duty deferral
Baltimore County is inside the service area of Foreign Trade Zone No. 74, administered by the Baltimore Development Corporation. The zone covers Baltimore City plus Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Cecil, Harford, Howard and Queen Anne’s counties, and all of Tradepoint Atlantic sits within it. A zone-status partner warehouse holds your imports with duty deferred until they leave for the US market. Customs clearance is coordinated through our licensed customs broker partners. Start with the FTZ 74 guide.
What to send for a quote
- Terminal and vessel, or the container numbers already on the pier.
- Container count and size, or unit count for vehicles.
- Commodity, HS code and hazmat class if any.
- Height and width of any over-dimensional piece.
- Delivery area: Dundalk, Sparrows Point, the northeast belt, Hunt Valley, or across the harbor.
- Storage, cross-dock or direct delivery, and the free time left.
Send it to operations@sams3pl.com or call (419) 745-9492. We reply within one business day. The quote form takes the same details.
Questions shippers ask
01Which port terminals are in Baltimore County?
Dundalk Marine Terminal and the private Tradepoint Atlantic port at Sparrows Point. Seagirt Marine Terminal sits on the city line a few minutes away.
02How far are the east-side warehouses from Seagirt?
Dundalk is about 2 miles, Sparrows Point about 6, and Essex, Rosedale, Middle River and White Marsh 8 to 15 miles along I-95 and I-695. None needs a tunnel or a bridge.
03Does the Key Bridge collapse affect Baltimore County freight?
Only when a load crosses the harbor. East-side loads bound for Anne Arundel County or BWI use the I-95 or I-895 tunnels, and hazmat or over-height loads loop the west side of I-695 until late 2030.
04Can we build or stage data center freight in Baltimore County?
The county has a moratorium on new data center applications through December 31, 2027. We stage data center construction freight from the port toward Frederick and the I-70 corridor instead.
05Is Baltimore County inside Foreign Trade Zone 74?
Yes. The county is in the FTZ 74 service area, and all of Tradepoint Atlantic is inside the zone.