Loudoun County is the largest data center market in the world, and Ashburn is its center. More than 10 million square feet of data center space was permitted in the county in 2025. Every one of those buildings takes racks, generators, switchgear, chillers, transformers and battery cabinets, and a large share of that equipment lands at the Port of Baltimore, 60 to 65 road miles away. Baltimore 3PL stages that inbound in Maryland partner warehouses inside Foreign Trade Zone 74 and delivers it to the Ashburn site on the day the contractor can receive it. We do not own a building in Loudoun or anywhere else. We own the relationships, and the delivery slot.
Getting there from the pier
Seagirt Marine Terminal is the Port of Baltimore’s container terminal, where racks and most switchgear arrive in boxes. Dundalk Marine Terminal, beside it, has heavy-lift cranes and handles the breakbulk and project cargo: generators, transformers and oversize skids. A standard load leaves either gate on I-95 south, passes under the harbor in the Fort McHenry Tunnel or the I-895 Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, continues to the Capital Beltway, and takes I-495 west toward Dulles and Loudoun. Plan on about 90 minutes outside peak traffic and more if the delivery window lands in the afternoon.
The height limit is the fact that shapes this lane. Since the Key Bridge collapsed in March 2024, loads over 14 feet 6 inches high or 11 feet wide, and all hazmat, may not use the harbor tunnels. They loop the west side of I-695 and rejoin I-95 south, about 30 to 35 extra miles and 45 to 60 minutes. A generator on a lowboy or a transformer on a specialized trailer usually falls on the wrong side of that limit. Lithium-ion UPS batteries are Class 9 hazmat and fall on the wrong side too. The new bridge opens in late 2030. Until then we plan every oversize and battery move on the loop and build the extra time into the delivery slot. See Key Bridge truck routing.
Data center alley and who ships there
Loudoun’s data center corridor runs from Ashburn toward Sterling and Dulles, next to the airport that gives the region its air freight gateway. The general contractors, electrical contractors and hyperscale operators building there order equipment months ahead and receive it on a strict sequence, because a site cannot take generators before the pads are poured or racks before the hall is closed in. That sequence is the logistics problem. Equipment arrives at Seagirt when the vessel lands, not when the site is ready. The answer is staging space on the Maryland side, in a partner warehouse where the equipment can wait without duty, and a delivery partner who moves it the day the site calls. Prologis Baltimore Washington Industrial Park in Jessup, 13 buildings about 18 miles from the pier and on I-95 toward the Beltway, is the kind of park where Loudoun inbound waits.
What we run for Loudoun County
White glove and final mile delivery of server racks and network equipment. Climate-controlled trailers, air-ride suspension, liftgate or dock delivery, inside delivery to the hall or the row, and crews who follow the site’s receiving rules. Read more on the data center logistics page.
Project cargo and breakbulk for generators, transformers, chillers and switchgear. Heavy-lift discharge at Dundalk, cribbing and securing, permits and escorts for the oversize run, and the I-695 loop planned in from the start. See energy project cargo.
FTZ and bonded warehouse staging in approved partner buildings in Maryland, so imported equipment waits for the site without a duty bill.
For battery cabinets and UPS strings, our hazmat carrier partners hold the permits the cargo needs. The battery energy storage page covers how Class 9 freight moves from the port.
Duty deferral before the state line
Loudoun County is not inside FTZ 74. The zone is a Maryland program, administered by the Baltimore Development Corporation, and it covers Baltimore City plus Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Cecil, Harford, Howard and Queen Anne’s counties. Imported racks, switchgear and generators can wait in an FTZ-approved partner warehouse in that area with no duty paid. Duty is paid only when the equipment ships to the Ashburn site. On a multi-million dollar equipment package for a building that is six months from ready, that is a large bill moved to the day it matters. Customs clearance is coordinated through our licensed customs broker partners. The FTZ 74 guide explains how the zone works.
What to send for a quote
- Equipment list with dimensions, weights and HS codes, and which items are hazmat
- Vessel or air arrival dates at Seagirt, Dundalk or Dulles
- The site’s receiving sequence and window, and its dock, hall or row delivery rules
- How long each item may wait before the site can take it
- Whether you want FTZ staging in Maryland
- Site contact for scheduling
Email operations@sams3pl.com or call (419) 745-9492. You get an answer within one business day.
Questions shippers ask
01How far is Ashburn from the Port of Baltimore?
About 60 to 65 road miles from the Seagirt gate, roughly 90 minutes by I-95 and I-495 outside peak traffic.
02Do you have a warehouse in Loudoun County?
No. We stage data center inbound in Maryland partner warehouses, inside FTZ 74, and deliver to the Ashburn site on the day the contractor can receive it.
03Why stage racks in Maryland instead of Virginia?
Duty. Virginia is outside FTZ 74. Imported racks and switchgear waiting in an approved Maryland partner building pay no duty until they ship to the site.
04Can generators and transformers go through the Baltimore harbor tunnels?
Only if they are under 14 feet 6 inches high and 11 feet wide. Taller or wider loads loop the west side of I-695, about 45 to 60 minutes more, until the Key Bridge reopens in late 2030.
05Can you move lithium-ion UPS batteries to a data center?
Yes, with hazmat carrier partners. Lithium-ion batteries are Class 9 hazmat, cannot use the harbor tunnels, and are routed on the loop with the right placards and permits.
06Do you deliver inside the data hall?
Our white glove partners deliver to the dock, to the hall, or to the row, with the crews and equipment the site requires. Tell us the receiving rules when you ask for a quote.