Meeting challenges that face the port
The Sun's editorial "Double port trouble" (Aug. 7) was both insightful and interesting. But it may be appropriate to consider the rather bigger picture.
Baltimore's port extends from the Inner Harbor through Fairfield and Dundalk to Sparrows Point and is made up of a partnership of state-run and privately operated terminals.
By some estimates, between 35 percent and 40 percent of the cargo that goes through the port is handled by the private sector.
In the private sector, coal exports that go through Canton and Curtis Bay, for instance, are at the highest level for years, and the general stevedores at Lazaretto and Locust Point are enjoying unprecedented growth in the export business - all thanks to the fall in the value of the dollar.
The public sector terminals are enjoying their share of success as well. The Dundalk Marine Terminal is busy as automobile, farm and construction equipment is in demand worldwide.
Container traffic increased by 4 percent in 2007, while West Coast ports and other East Coast ports are down in volume this year.
The question of double-stack rail service remains a thorny but not insurmountable issue.
Rail is and will remain important, but not all cargo that goes through the port is in containers or can be carried by rail.
Additionally, with fuel prices likely to remain relatively high for the foreseeable future, and trucking charges calculated on a per-mile basis, Baltimore - as the closest East Coast port to major Midwest markets - is set for a dynamic future.
The port's major challenge over the next decade will be to find enough land adjacent to deep-water access to serve the expected increase in business when the Panama Canal expansion program scheduled to be completed in 2014 is finished and even larger ships from the Pacific Rim countries will be able to call directly in Baltimore.
Rupert Denney, Baltimore
The writer is chairman of the Baltimore Port Alliance, a nonprofit group that advocates for the port of Baltimore.
In response to The Sun's editorial "Double port trouble" (Aug. 7), I would note that we need to make all investments possible for the port of Baltimore's future. The port is critical to the Mid-Atlantic region and tremendously important to the region's economy.
Railroads are a crucial mode of transportation for the port, especially today, as highway congestion in the region worsens. I support increasing freight railroad capacity at the port.
