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Port provides over 1,400 jobs to Harford residents Jack McLaughlin
There are approximately 16,500 directly jobs related to the port, White, a Bel Air resident, told Harford County Chamber of Commerce members at their July 23 meeting at the Vandiver Inn in Have de Grace. There are more than 111,000 other jobs in the state related to port activities, he said. In 2008 the port ranked was number 14 of the top 15 United States ports in the amount of foreign cargo handled, with 33,107,812 tons. It ranked 12 of 15 in the value of foreign cargo through the port at $45,335,224,036. Last year Baltimore was first among 360 U.S. ports handling roll on/roll off cargo, trucks and imports of forest products, sugar, gypsum and iron ore. Baltimore was second among the ports for exported automobiles. White said there are a number of issues facing the part. While the depth of the channel into the port is 50 feet deep, there are no 50-foot berths for ships. That could be of concern in coming years with the deepening and widening of the Panama Canal, which could result increased use of Baltimore by larger vessels. The C & D Canal, which connects the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays north of Baltimore, is 35 feet deep. White said about half of Baltimore’s shipping uses the C & D. Dredging is a continuing concern, said White, with 5 million to 5.5 million cubic yards of material being taken from the harbor annually. The port administration executive mentioned two other issues that impact cargo once it has been unloaded. White said more space is needed to stack containers when they’re taken off ships. The other matter impacting the movement of cargo after it is ashore is the capacity of the railroad tunnel beneath Howard Street, which White said has become “a choke point” in moving freight. More cruise ships are using the port, said White. Last year there were 28 cruises out of Baltimore, this year more than 70 are expected. The economic impact of the cruise ship industry on the port was $68 million last year and is anticipated to be more than $150 million this year. White was executive director of the MPA from 1999 to 2005 and was reappointed to the post by Governor Martin O’Malley two years ago. In the interim he was senior vice president and chief operations officer for New Jersey based Ceres Terminals, which provides stevedore and terminal operations services in major North American ports. He first came to MPA in 1993 as director of operations and executive vice president of Maryland International Terminals, later serving as MPA deputy executive director. A past president of the North Atlantic Ports Association, White has a bachelor's degree in business administration and economics from Wagner College in New York. His maritime career has included working for Puerto Rico Marine Management, Inc. ,Sea Trai ,and Concorde Nopal.
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Harford County doesn’t immediately come to mind when the Port of Baltimore is mentioned but there is a strong connection. More than 1,400 county residents, including Maryland Port Administration (MPA) Executive Director James White, have jobs generated by the port.