![[photo, Tugboats, Fells Point, Baltimore, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/36loc/bcity/images/i004379b.jpg)
Baltimore is one of only two Eastern U.S. ports where the main shipping channel reaches a depth of 50 feet (15.2 meters). Five public and twelve private terminals handle the Port's traffic.
Tugboats, Fells Point, Baltimore, Maryland, January 2000. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
![[photo, Tugboat, Baltimore Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland]](/msa/mdmanual/36loc/bcity/images/i006183b.jpg)
The Port of Baltimore has a vital role in Maryland's economic development, generating $1.5 billion in annual revenue and supporting 33,700 jobs. Closer to the Midwest than any other East Coast port, the Port in Baltimore City is within an overnight drive of one-third of the nation's population. It serves over 50 ocean carriers making nearly 1,800 annual visits. The Port's container capacity increased by 50% with the opening in 1990 of Seagirt Marine Terminal, a 275-acre center for automated cargo-handling. General cargo moving through the Port of in 2002 amounted to 38,800,000 short tons (23,600,000 foreign; 15,200,000 domestic). Foreign cargo increased by 7% over the previous year.
Tugboat, Baltimore Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland, September 2001. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
In 2003, all major cargo categories - containers; automobiles, steel, farm and construction equipment, wood pulp, and other breakbulk commodities; and project cargoes, such as prefabricated buildings - recorded strong growth. Containerized cargo exports totaled 1.1 million short tons, and imports totaled 3.6 million short tons.
The center of international commerce for the region is the World Trade Center Baltimore. It houses the Maryland Port Administration and U.S. headquarters for several major shipping lines.
Chief Exports: coal, corn, soybeans, lignite, coal coke, petroleum, and fuel oils.
Chief Imports: automobiles and small trucks, iron ore, petroleum products, gypsum, sugar, cement, bauxite, salt, crude mineral substances, fertilizer and fertilizer materials, and ferroalloys. Baltimore also continues to grow as a major distributor of imported wood pulp and paper.
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