Jessup is the densest 3PL and produce-market cluster in Maryland. The town straddles the Howard County and Anne Arundel County line where Route 1, MD-32 and I-95 meet, about 18 road miles from the Seagirt gate. Wholesale produce trades here overnight, third-party warehouses fill the side streets off Route 1, and Prologis Baltimore Washington Industrial Park alone runs to 13 buildings. If you have priced warehouse space near Baltimore, you have looked at Jessup. Baltimore 3PL coordinates partner warehouses, transload crews and carriers across the cluster. We do not own the warehouse. We own the relationship, and the result.
Getting there from the pier
Seagirt Marine Terminal is the Port of Baltimore’s container terminal. Dundalk Marine Terminal handles ro-ro, breakbulk, forest products and project cargo. Both are on the east side of the Baltimore harbor. A standard dray to Jessup leaves the gate on I-95 south, passes under the harbor in the Fort McHenry Tunnel or takes I-895 through the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, and continues on I-95 to the MD-32 or Route 1 exits. Plan on about 30 minutes outside peak traffic. Jessup is close enough that a driver can turn two containers in a shift, which keeps chassis time and demurrage exposure low.
Jessup never relied on the Key Bridge. The bridge carried I-695 across the Patapsco on the outer harbor, and the Jessup lane runs through the tunnels. The collapse in March 2024 matters only for restricted loads. Hazmat, loads over 14 feet 6 inches high and loads over 11 feet wide are barred from both tunnels and loop the west side of I-695, about 30 to 35 extra miles and 45 to 60 minutes. The rebuild opens in late 2030. We plan those moves on the loop and quote the cost up front. Our Key Bridge truck routing page has the limits.
Industrial parks and who is there
Prologis Baltimore Washington Industrial Park is the anchor, 13 buildings on the Jessup side of the corridor with direct access to Route 1 and MD-32. The wholesale produce market draws refrigerated inbound every night, and the cold storage that grew up around it serves grocery and foodservice distributors across the region. Prologis Corridor Industrial Park sits a few minutes east at MD-32 and I-95 on the Anne Arundel side. Up Route 1 in Columbia, Saval Foods is consolidating into a 218,000 square foot lease by the end of 2027, and Feast & Fettle is opening a 25,000 square foot production site in Elkridge. The corridor is a food corridor first and a general distribution corridor second.
What we run in Jessup
Warehousing: ambient and temperature-controlled partner space on the Route 1 corridor, from a few hundred pallets of overflow to a standing regional position. Daily status by email and one invoice.
Transloading: container to trailer at a partner dock in Jessup, or at our transload partner at Dundalk before the dray. Floor-loaded import containers get palletized, labeled and reloaded into 53-foot trailers for the inland run. Baltimore is the closest Atlantic port to the Midwest, and a trailer out of Jessup is on I-95 in minutes.
Cold chain: refrigerated and frozen partner storage near the produce market, for importers and domestic shippers in food and beverage. The partner holds the registrations the program needs. Tell us the temperature band and we place the freight only where the permit fits.
FTZ 74 and duty deferral
Both halves of Jessup are inside the FTZ 74 service area. Howard County joined in 2019, and Anne Arundel County is in the service area as well. FTZ 74 is administered by the Baltimore Development Corporation. In an FTZ-approved partner building, imported goods wait without duty, and duty is paid only when they ship into the US market. Re-exports pay nothing. For a food importer with seasonal turns or a consumer brand with high tariff lines, that is cash held until the sale. Customs clearance is coordinated through our licensed customs broker partners. The FTZ 74 guide walks through the numbers, and the import duty deferral page compares the zone with a bonded warehouse.
What to send for a quote
- Commodity and HS code, and whether it is produce, frozen, ambient food or general cargo
- Temperature band and any regulatory program the product falls under
- Monthly containers in and pallets or trailers out
- Whether you need storage, transload only, or both
- FTZ or duty deferral interest and the duty rate you pay today
- Start date and expected season
Send the list to operations@sams3pl.com or call (419) 745-9492. You get a reply within one business day.
Questions shippers ask
01How far is Jessup from the Port of Baltimore?
About 18 road miles from the Seagirt gate and around 30 minutes outside peak traffic, by I-95 or I-895 through the harbor tunnels.
02Do you have your own warehouse in Jessup?
No. We coordinate partner warehouses on the Route 1 and MD-32 corridor and match each shipment to the building whose permits and temperature fit it.
03Can you store refrigerated or frozen product in Jessup?
Yes. Jessup grew up around the wholesale produce market, and our cold chain partners there hold the registrations a food program needs.
04Is Jessup inside FTZ 74?
Yes. Jessup straddles Howard and Anne Arundel counties, and both are in the FTZ 74 service area. Duty is deferred in an FTZ-approved partner building.
05What is a transload and why do it in Jessup?
A transload moves cargo from the ocean container into a 53-foot trailer. Doing it in Jessup returns the container to the pier fast and puts the trailer on I-95 in minutes.
06Does the Key Bridge detour touch Jessup freight?
Only for hazmat and over-height or over-width loads, which cannot use the tunnels and loop the west side of I-695. Standard containers are not affected.