Port of Baltimore cargo down 2 percent for FY10

Cargo volume at the state-owned Port of Baltimore terminals fell 2 percent in fiscal year 2010, but is showing signs of a rebound after a strong second half of the year.

The port handled 9.1 million tons of cargo in the fiscal year, which ran from July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2010. That was down from 9.3 million tons in the previous fiscal year.

The decline was weighed down by declines of 27 percent and 31 percent in paper products and roll-on/roll-off cargo, respectively. Those are two of the port’s key niche cargos. The so-called “ro-ro” cargo includes farm and construction equipment and is deeply affected by a slowdown in new building across the country. Paper cargo has been impacted by declines in magazine and newspaper readership.

But other categories saw strong improvement. Automobile cargo rose from 521,000 tons in fiscal 2009 to 659,000 tons in fiscal 2010, a rise of 26 percent. Paper pulp rose 13 percent from 426,000 tons to 483,000 tons.

Containerized cargo, which includes many consumer goods that have been slower to sell in the recession, rose 2 percent, from 6.5 million tons to 6.7 million tons.