Your container clears Seagirt on a Tuesday. Free time ends Friday. Your distribution center sits 300 miles away and the carrier has no appointment until next week. That gap is where demurrage and detention bills start. Port-centric warehousing closes the gap. We place your freight in a partner warehouse a few miles from the terminal. The container strips the day it lands. The empty returns inside free time. Your product waits on a rack, not on a chassis.
Seagirt is the container terminal at the Port of Baltimore. It moved a record 1,113,309 TEU in 2025 on 15 weekly container services. Every one of those boxes needs a building within reach of the gate. We do not own that building. We own the relationship with the operators who do, and we own the result.
How it runs at the Port of Baltimore
The desk books drayage from Seagirt to a partner warehouse in Dundalk, Sparrows Point, Curtis Bay or the Jessup corridor. Dundalk and Sparrows Point sit east of the harbor, a short surface-road hop from the terminal. Curtis Bay and Jessup sit south and west, reached through the I-95 Fort McHenry Tunnel or the I-895 Harbor Tunnel. We match the building to your outbound lanes, not to a pin on a map.
Inside the building, the receiving crew counts, labels and racks the product. Pallets that leave by truck go to a dock near I-95, I-70 or I-83. Containers that leave by rail for the Midwest stage at the CSX on-dock railhead at Seagirt, which now has full double-stack clearance through the Howard Street Tunnel. Read how double-stack changes the inbound math.
Daily status comes by email: receipts, inventory on hand, shipments out. No portal, no login, no surprise.
Two models, one desk
- Shared space: you pay for pallets stored and pallets handled. Good for seasonal or test volumes.
- Dedicated space: a block of the building with your SKUs and your rules. Good for steady import programs of about 20 containers a month or more.
What the partner network brings
Baltimore 3PL is a service-area logistics company. We do not run a warehouse in Baltimore. Every move runs through a partner network we have curated for 50 years: warehouse operators, drayage carriers, transload crews and licensed customs broker partners. You get one accountable desk. The desk gets the right partner for the lane.
That model has a practical upside. A warehouse operator with one building sells you that building. We have no building to fill, so the right building wins every time. Forest products go to a partner with covered floor space near Dundalk. Small-parcel e-commerce goes to a partner set up for fulfillment in the Jessup cluster. Dutiable goods go to a partner inside FTZ 74.
One phone number, (419) 745-9492, reaches the desk Monday to Friday, 07:00 to 18:00 Eastern. After hours by arrangement.
What it costs and what moves the price
We quote warehousing in three lines: storage per pallet per month, handling in and out per pallet or per case, and drayage per container. The price moves with:
- Pallet count and turn. Fast-turning freight pays more handling and less storage.
- Building type. Racked, floor-stacked, food-grade and temperature-controlled space each price differently.
- Distance from the terminal. A Dundalk partner costs less in drayage than a Jessup partner, but Jessup may cost less in outbound truck.
- Container type. 40-foot high-cubes, overweight boxes and hazmat each change the drayage line.
- Labor content. Labeling, kitting and retail compliance add per-unit charges.
You get one rate sheet. The accessorial list is shorter than the quote.
Why a Baltimore warehouse reaches more than Baltimore
The Port of Baltimore is the closest Atlantic port to the Midwest. From Seagirt, Washington DC is about 40 road miles, Harrisburg 85, Philadelphia 105, Pittsburgh 250, Cleveland 365, Columbus 420 and Chicago 700. About one third of US households sit within a day’s drive. A pallet that leaves a Dundalk partner warehouse at 07:00 reaches a Pittsburgh plant or a Philadelphia retailer the same day.
Rail widens that circle. Since the June 2026 ribbon-cutting, CSX runs double-stack trains from Seagirt to the Midwest through the Howard Street Tunnel. The Maryland Port Administration expects about 160,000 more containers a year as a result. A Baltimore warehouse can now feed Chicago by rail and Richmond by truck from the same dock.
From 2028 the Sparrows Point Container Terminal adds a second container gateway with on-dock rail at Tradepoint Atlantic, the private port at Sparrows Point. All of Tradepoint Atlantic sits inside FTZ 74. Partner warehouses on the east side will sit between two terminals. See Sparrows Point for the local picture.
What to send for a quote
Email operations@sams3pl.com or use the quote form. We reply within one business day. Include:
- Monthly container count and container sizes
- SKU count and pallet profile: dimensions, weight, stackable or not
- Average inventory in pallets and your peak month
- Outbound mode and destinations: parcel, LTL, truckload or rail
- Special handling: food-grade, temperature, hazmat class, FTZ or bonded
- Start date and the contract length you have in mind
Questions shippers ask
01Do you own a warehouse in Baltimore?
No. Baltimore 3PL is a service-area logistics company. We place your freight in partner warehouses we have worked with for decades and we stay accountable for the result.
02How close to Seagirt can my inventory sit?
Partner warehouses in Dundalk and Sparrows Point are a short surface-road hop from the terminal on the east side of the harbor. Curtis Bay and Jessup partners are reached through the harbor tunnels.
03Can I store imported goods without paying duty right away?
Yes. Partner sites inside FTZ 74 and CBP bonded partner warehouses defer duty until goods leave for a US customer. Customs clearance is coordinated through our licensed customs broker partners.
04How do I see my inventory?
You receive daily status by email: receipts, inventory on hand and shipments out. Ask for a different format and the desk sets it up.
05What is the minimum volume?
Shared space starts at a few pallets. Dedicated space makes sense at about 20 containers a month or more.
06How fast can a program start?
We reply within one business day with a quote. Shared-space programs can usually receive within a week of a signed rate sheet.