Washington, DC is about 40 road miles from the Seagirt gate, about an hour on I-95. The Washington and Baltimore region holds 6.8 million people, the fourth-largest consumer market in the country, and the Port of Baltimore is its container port. Federal agencies, embassies, hotels and the data centers across the river all take freight that lands at Seagirt. Very little of it should sit in the District. Baltimore 3PL holds it in partner warehouses in Maryland, inside Foreign Trade Zone 74, and delivers it into the city on a timed schedule. We do not own a building in Washington or anywhere else. We own the relationships that get your freight through the loading dock on the hour you booked.
Getting there from the pier
Seagirt Marine Terminal is the container terminal. Dundalk Marine Terminal, next to it, handles ro-ro, breakbulk and forest products. The Fairfield auto terminals on the south side of the harbor handle vehicles. A standard load for Washington leaves Seagirt on I-95 south, passes under the harbor in the Fort McHenry Tunnel or takes I-895 through the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel, and stays on I-95 to the Capital Beltway, I-495, and into the District. Plan on about an hour outside peak traffic, and more at the Beltway in the afternoon.
The Key Bridge collapse in March 2024 did not change the standard DC lane, which always used the tunnels. It did change the restricted lane. Hazmat, loads over 14 feet 6 inches high and loads over 11 feet wide may not use either tunnel. They loop the west side of I-695 and rejoin I-95 south, about 30 to 35 extra miles and 45 to 60 minutes. The new bridge opens in late 2030. We schedule those moves on the loop and price them before you commit. The Key Bridge truck routing page has the limits.
Why warehouse near DC means Maryland
A search for a warehouse near DC ends in Maryland for a reason. The District has almost no industrial land. The Route 1 and I-95 corridor between Baltimore and the Beltway holds the warehouse stock, and it is inside FTZ 74. Prologis Baltimore Washington Industrial Park in Jessup, 13 buildings about 18 miles from the pier, is the kind of park where DC-bound freight waits. From Jessup a truck reaches the Beltway in well under an hour. Your inventory sits where it is cheap and clears customs where it is convenient. It enters the city only when a receiving dock is ready for it.
What we run for Washington, DC
White glove and final mile delivery into federal buildings, embassies, hotels and offices. Timed arrival, inside delivery, debris removal, and crews who know that a loading dock in the District runs on an appointment and a badge. Furniture, fixtures and equipment for hotel openings fit here. Read more on the furniture and big and bulky page.
Warehousing in Maryland partner buildings between the port and the Beltway. Standing inventory for a federal contract, a product launch or a hospitality program, with daily status by email.
Cross-docking for import containers that need to break into building-by-building deliveries without a storage stop. A container cleared at Seagirt in the morning can be on three timed trucks into the city by the next day.
Government and defense suppliers can read how we handle chain of custody on the defense, aerospace and government page. Data center inbound for Loudoun and Prince William passes the District on the same route, and we stage it the same way.
Duty deferral before the state line
The District is not inside FTZ 74. Maryland is. The zone, administered by the Baltimore Development Corporation, covers Baltimore City plus Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Cecil, Harford, Howard and Queen Anne’s counties. Imported goods can wait in an FTZ-approved partner warehouse in that area with no duty paid, and the duty is paid only when an order ships to the buyer in Washington. Goods that are re-exported, for instance to an embassy’s home country, never pay. Customs clearance is coordinated through our licensed customs broker partners. The FTZ 74 guide explains the mechanics.
What to send for a quote
- Commodity, HS code and duty rate
- Monthly containers or pallets in, and deliveries out
- The receiving sites: agency, embassy, hotel, office or data center, with any badge or appointment rules
- Whether deliveries are dock-to-dock, inside, or installed
- Any FTZ or duty deferral interest while goods wait in Maryland
- Start date
Send it to operations@sams3pl.com or call (419) 745-9492. You get a reply within one business day.
Questions shippers ask
01How far is Washington, DC from the Port of Baltimore?
About 40 road miles from the Seagirt gate, or roughly an hour on I-95 outside peak traffic.
02Do you have a warehouse in Washington, DC?
No. We coordinate partner warehouses in Maryland between the port and the Beltway and deliver into the District on a schedule. That costs less than space inside the city.
03Can I defer duty on goods bound for DC?
Yes, while they wait in Maryland. FTZ 74 covers Baltimore City and six Maryland counties. Goods sit in an approved partner building without duty and enter when they ship to the buyer.
04Can you deliver on an appointment to a federal building, embassy or hotel?
Yes. Our final-mile partners deliver timed, with the paperwork and the crew the receiving site requires. Tell us the site rules when you ask for a quote.
05Does the Key Bridge detour affect DC deliveries?
Only for hazmat and over-height or over-width loads, which cannot use the harbor tunnels and loop the west side of I-695 before heading south. Standard loads go straight down I-95.