Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd Reroute Ships From Baltimore
European Cargo Ships are Rerouting to Philadelphia as Baltimore Struggles to Replace Key Bridge
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Two top trans-Atlanticshippers are moving their cargoes toPhiladelphia-area terminals, boosting longshore and trucking jobs, and endingBaltimoreport calls as work drags onreplacing theKey Bridgewhose collapse 21 months agocrippled ship trafficto that city’s harbor.
A.P. Moller-Maersk, based inDenmark, and German-basedHapag-Lloyd AG, which each rank among the top five global container companies and operatehundreds of ships carrying millions of trailers, have switched a major route for their Gemini joint venture to theDelaware Rivercontainer terminals, effectiveJan. 4,Philadelphia-basedHolt Logisticstold customers in a note Dec. 17.
“Rising tide lifts all boats, and that includes the waterfront labor, plus all the other ancillary support folks that run freight, handle it, and store it,” saidLeo Holt, whose family operatesHolt Logistics. “It’s a big win forPhiladelphia, and a harbinger of good things to come.”
Holt, based inGloucester City, isexpanding its container operationsin thePort of Philadelphiaon land acquired by state port agency PhilaPort near itsOregon Avenueterminal. Singaporean-ownedPenn TerminalsinDelaware Countyand thePort of Wilmington, Del., also handle containers, filled with wine, automobiles, car parts and tires, and many other goods.
Maersk ranks No. 7 and Hapag-Lloyd ranks No. 17 on the Transport Topics Top 50 list of the largest global freight companies.
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Philadelphiarecorded the equivalent of 841,000 20-foot trailer equivalents (TEUs) through area ports last year and expects to report more for 2025, even before the new service and additional lines toAustralia and New Zealandstart next year.
Philadelphia-area container shipping has nearly doubled sinceJeff Theoboldtook over as PhilaPort executive director in 2016, while overallU.S.container volume has risen only about 30%. Theobold plans toretire in June, two months after PhilaPort’s new cruise ship terminal is scheduled to open inDelaware CountynearPhiladelphia International Airport. The agency is searching for a successor.
A new trans-Atlantic route moves containerships betweenNewark, N.J., terminals that handleNew Yorkcargoes,Norfolk, Va.,St. JohninCanada, the British port ofSouthampton, the Netherlands’ giantRotterdamport at the mouth of the Rhine, and the German ports of Willhelmshaven andHamburg.
The route will addGermanyto the list of countries with direct service toPhiladelphia, noted PhilaPort spokesmanSean Mahoney. There’s no guarantee that all theBaltimorecargoes will shift toPhiladelphia.
Philadelphiaalso expects more ships fromAustralia and New Zealandports as two lines that service those countries via thePanama Canalhave recently addedPhiladelphiaas their northern port, Mahoney said. Already those countries and other South Pacific ports make up close to one-quarter of thePhiladelphiaarea’s container cargoes, making it the leadingEast Coastport for shipments from that region. PhilaPort expects the lines will attract cargoes now shipped toBaltimore,New YorkorNorfolk.
Newarkis the largest port complex in the Northeast.Philadelphiacompetes withBaltimoreand southern ports for container and automotive cargoes.
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Ships have to travel inland from the coast to reachPhiladelphiaand even farther to reachBaltimore, though both areas are served by highways and railroads to reach exporters and importers.
Philadelphiahas thefastest arrival-to-departure time of any North American port, reducing shipping costs, according to a recent report by aWorld Banksubsidiary. Holt attributes that to cooperation between the International Longshoreman’s Association andTeamstersunions, port agencies and owners such as PhilaPort, and his own organization. Next year Holt plans to add two more tall cranes to the small forest of ship unloading equipment it maintains in South Philly andGloucester City.
