The Port of Baltimore: off the beaten track?

The Port of Baltimore has recently experienced alarming traffic trends. Most measures of port vitality have been going the wrong way—tonnage, ship calls, market share, steamship service. rail service. Baltimore has been squeezed by external forces and circumstances. Dergulated rail and truck rates have not favoured Baltimore, nor have railroad mergers that have led to rail traffic concentrations at rival seaports. Federal approval of dredging projects has been delaed. Crises in the labour market have created a climate of uncertainty. Global trade patterns and intermodel itineraries have shifted, again, it seems, not to Baltimore'advantage. Baltimore needs new public port policy recommendations. This paper explains some of the problems and offers preliminary suggestions.