Tradepoint Atlantic signs marine terminal operator

A planned rail logistics hub on the site of a former steel mill near Baltimore took a major step forward this week, signing on a key player as both a manager and investor.

Tradepoint Atlantic, the 3,100-acre multimodal global logistics center at Sparrows Point announced an exclusive, 10-year agreement with Host Terminals to oversee the vast majority of marine cargo operations.

The deal also calls for $30 million in combined investment toward infrastructure improvements on the site, envisioned as a key East Coast trade gateway that features a combination of access to deepwater berths, railroads and highways. It includes connections to CSX and Norfolk Southern.

In 2016 Tradepoint hired Paul Thomas of CSX to to manage its short line railroad.

Tradepoint said 94-year old Host, headquartered in Norfolk, Va.,  is an expert in terminal operations on the East and Gulf Coasts, and has been doing business in Baltimore since 1986. Its expertise is in transportation of non-containerized cargoes for the bulk and break bulk industry, including terminal operations, stevedoring, marine asset, and ship agency work.

“Since Host’s founding in 1923, many of the fundamentals of moving bulk and break bulk cargo haven’t changed,” said Host President and Chief Executive Adam Anderson, in a release. “Tradepoint Atlantic offers a unique solution to create efficiencies in the supply chain by processing goods on-site and using rail to provide a lower delivered-cost to our customers. Our goal is to add value, whether it’s 50 acres for a factory on-site, a storage warehouse, or a tank. It will not only service the market in Baltimore, but will shift the transportation paradigm for bulk and break bulk cargoes to the 21st century.”

The site has four berths and over 1,000 acres dedicated to marine storage space, and claims to have the largest private railyard on the U.S. East Coast with over 100 miles of shortline rail on-site as it relocates bulk cargo operations inland. 

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