The Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore moved about 50 million tons of cargo in 2025, its second-best year on record, across 2,223 vessel calls. That tonnage lands at five public terminals owned by the Maryland Port Administration (MPA) and at a ring of private terminals around the Patapsco River. The first thing a shipper needs to know is which gate the cargo comes out of. This page is the map.
Public terminals owned by MPA
| Terminal | Who works it | Cargo | Rail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seagirt Marine Terminal | Ports America Chesapeake, under a 50-year agreement signed in 2010 | Containers only | CSX on-dock intermodal yard |
| Dundalk Marine Terminal | Amports, Balterm, Ceres, Mid-Atlantic Terminals, Ports America Chesapeake | Autos, ro-ro, farm and construction machinery, breakbulk, forest products, project cargo, containers | Norfolk Southern direct, CSX by interchange |
| Fairfield and Masonville | MPA auto terminals | Autos and ro-ro | Served from the port rail network |
| South Locust Point | MPA, Cruise Maryland Terminal | Cruise passengers | None for cargo |
| North Locust Point | MPA | Breakbulk and general cargo | Port rail network |
Each terminal has its own page with berth depths, crane lists and planning notes: Seagirt, Dundalk, Fairfield and Masonville and Locust Point.
Private terminals
MPA lists seven private terminals in the port. The ones a 3PL shipper meets most often are these.
- Tradepoint Atlantic. The 3,300-acre former Bethlehem Steel site at Sparrows Point. Host Terminals runs marine operations. Volkswagen Group runs 115 acres of vehicle operations there, Pasha Automotive processes cars, and Atlantic Forest Products handles paper and pulp. The whole site sits inside FTZ No. 74.
- Sparrows Point Container Terminal (SPCT). Tradepoint Atlantic and Terminal Investment Limited, the MSC-affiliated operator, broke ground on May 1, 2026. First berth in 2028, full build in 2030. See the SPCT page.
- Rukert Terminals. Family-owned bulk, breakbulk and project cargo terminal, known for de-icing road salt.
- CNX Marine Terminals. Coal export pier at Curtis Bay. Baltimore is the No. 2 US coal export port.
- Baltimore Metal & Commodities, MAT Mid-Atlantic Terminal, The Terminal Corporation and Westway Terminal. Metals, bulk and liquid cargo.
Also private: the Amports Chesapeake and Atlantic auto terminals at Fairfield, 250 acres combined. Portwide, autos and ro-ro have 710 acres of space.
Which cargo lands where
| Cargo | Terminal | 2025 note |
|---|---|---|
| Containers | Seagirt (SPCT from 2028) | 1,113,309 TEU, a record, on 15 weekly services |
| Autos and light trucks | Dundalk, Fairfield, Masonville, Amports, Tradepoint Atlantic | 728,225 units, No. 2 in the US |
| Farm and construction machinery (ro-ro) | Dundalk | 887,513 tons, No. 1 in the US |
| Forest products (rolled paper, pulp) | Dundalk sheds, Tradepoint Atlantic | 1.1M tons, No. 1 in the US |
| Breakbulk and project cargo | Dundalk, Rukert, North Locust Point | Steel coils, raw rubber, oversize machinery |
| Raw sugar | Domino Sugar refinery, Locust Point | No. 2 in the US |
| Road salt | Rukert | No. 2 in the US |
| Coal | CNX, Curtis Bay | No. 2 US export port |
| Containerized grain exports | Seagirt grain transload | 200 or more containers a week, opened 2026 |
Harbor geography matters more since 2024
The port wraps around the Patapsco River. Seagirt, Dundalk and Tradepoint Atlantic sit together on the east side, a few miles apart by surface road. Fairfield, Masonville and Curtis Bay sit on the south side. Locust Point is the peninsula that ends at Fort McHenry, reached from I-95 on the city side.
Before March 26, 2024 the Francis Scott Key Bridge carried I-695 across the river and tied the two sides together. Since the collapse, every cross-harbor truck uses the I-95 Fort McHenry Tunnel or the I-895 Harbor Tunnel. Hazmat loads and anything over 14 ft 6 in high or 11 ft wide cannot enter either tunnel and must loop the west side of I-695 instead. The rebuild opens in late 2030. The Key Bridge routing page has the detour math.
The practical rule: keep an east-side box on the east side when you can. A container out of Seagirt that transloads at a partner warehouse in Dundalk or Sparrows Point never touches a tunnel. A car out of Fairfield bound for a dealer in Harford County does.
Three facts that shape every Baltimore plan
- Depth. Seagirt has 50 ft berths, one of only four US East Coast ports at that depth, so the largest Atlantic services call here.
- Rail. CSX runs double-stack trains from Seagirt to the Midwest since June 2026. Norfolk Southern serves Dundalk directly. See double-stack rail.
- Reach. Baltimore is the closest Atlantic port to the Midwest. Chicago is about 700 road miles, Pittsburgh about 250 and Washington, DC about 40.
How Baltimore 3PL uses this
We do not own a terminal, a warehouse or a truck. We own the relationship with the people who do, and the desk assigns the partner that fits the gate. Drayage partners cover every terminal above. Transloading partners sit on the east side near Seagirt and Dundalk. Ro-ro and project cargo partners work Dundalk and the private piers.
What to send for a quote
- Cargo type and terminal, or the ocean carrier and vessel if you are not sure which gate
- Container count and sizes, or unit count for vehicles and machinery
- Delivery address and whether the load is hazmat, over-height or over-width
- Expected arrival date and free time on the bill of lading
- Whether you need transload, storage or FTZ admission after pickup
Send it to the quote desk and you get a plan within one business day.
Questions shippers ask
01Which Port of Baltimore terminal handles containers?
Seagirt Marine Terminal handles containers and nothing else. Ports America Chesapeake operates it. Sparrows Point Container Terminal adds a second container terminal from 2028.
02Where do imported cars land in Baltimore?
At Dundalk, at the MPA auto terminals at Fairfield and Masonville, at the private Amports terminals at Fairfield, and at Tradepoint Atlantic. The processor named on the bill of lading decides which one.
03What is the difference between a public and a private terminal?
Public terminals are owned by the Maryland Port Administration and worked by contracted stevedores. Private terminals such as Tradepoint Atlantic, Rukert and CNX are owned and run by the companies themselves.
04Which terminals sit on the same side of the harbor?
Seagirt, Dundalk and Tradepoint Atlantic sit together on the east side. Fairfield, Masonville and Curtis Bay sit on the south side. Moves between the two sides cross through the harbor tunnels until the Key Bridge reopens.
05Can Baltimore 3PL pick up at any of these terminals?
Yes. Our drayage partners hold the credentials for every public and private terminal in the port, and the desk assigns the carrier that fits the terminal and the cargo.