Port Of Baltimore Welcomes Cargo Shipments Diverted From Other Ports
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The supply chain nightmare continues for people nationwide as the busiest shopping season of the year is upon us.
Yet William Doyle, executive director for the Port Authority of Baltimore, said the Port of Baltimore is pulling its weight and that of its peers across the country.
"Bar none, we are the best," Doyle told WJZ. "Nobody on the East Coast is better than the Port of Baltimore on every single type of cargo."
Shoppers don't know who to blame for the supply chain crisis, but they've noticed higher prices at gas pumps and in stores. They've also seen their shipments delayed.
It's a source of mounting frustrations for many families. Bernice Brown-Wiggins said she wishes she should've gotten an earlier start on holiday shopping.
"I'm waiting for five or six packages since October, and when I track them on tracking it just says, 'being shipped,'" she said. "So, where are my packages?"
The Port of Baltimore has been an outlet for ships that were diverted from their original destinations, including one vessel carrying 1,800 Mercedes-Benz vehicles.
The flurry of activity comes after a massive backup at the port last month.
Chopper 13 captured the traffic jam outside the port in early November, congestion the port attributed to higher-than-usual cargo volumes. That congestion has since faded.
Doyle estimates the port sees roughly 2,000 shipments a year, although that total has grown this year due to backlogs at domestic ports on the West Coast.
"We've had 26 ships since July 2020 that were not scheduled to come into the Port of Baltimore," he said. "They've had to come into the Port of Baltimore to get the goods off the ship and into the stream of commerce."
Roughly 15,000 employees are involved with keeping the port running like a well-oiled machine. Doyle credits their hard work for the port's recent success.
"(Cargo) does not sit on the ship," he said. "It does not sit on the dock."