Top 25 North American Ports

Special Report

More carrier-controlled terminal operations could be coming to the East Coast

By Peter Tirschwell

US East Coast ports are undergoing a long-term transformation that will increasingly move cargo through carrier-controlled terminals.

Maher Terminals, the largest terminal at the Port of New York and New Jersey, is being prepped for sale by Macquarie Infrastructure Partners with a possible price tag of $ 4 billion to $ 5 billion, according to one source, a sum within reach for terminal-hungry carriers flush with cash after a six-year run of profitability since the pandemic.

This trend extends to the Southeast as well. It’ s entirely possible that carrier-controlled port operations will commence in the next few years at Charleston and Savannah, where the state-operated model has prevailed for decades.

The natural strategic alignment between carriers and terminals is why carrier-controlled facilities date back to the 1950s.

Three main factors have created a more favorable climate for expansion of carrier-controlled terminals along the East Coast: deep-pocketed carriers aggressively pursuing terminal deals; favorable lease terms achieved by the Port of New York and New Jersey at multiple terminals, which is inspiring other East Coast ports to consider similar deals; and clarity around the dockworker union gaining jobs at new terminals once they are opened.

That means the Savannah Container Terminal, still under development in Georgia, will necessarily be manned by workers represented by the International Longshoremen’ s Association( ILA) under the current collective bargaining agreement. Because the state cannot, by law, employ unionized dockworkers directly, the facility may be leased out to a third-party operator, possibly one aligned to an ocean carrier.

It also means the Hugh Leatherman terminal at Charleston— where the port waged an unsuccessful legal battle to keep the ILA out— could fall into the hands of a carrier under a lease process being considered by the port.

A less embattled example is Baltimore, where Mediterranean Shipping Co.’ s Terminal Investment Limited( TiL) is a partner in a project to develop Sparrows Point, a former industrial site, into a 165-acre terminal.

Stable, profitable assets

Carrier investment in East Coast terminals will expand capacity in a region that has seen little of it while providing shippers with the potential for improved service.

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24 Journal of Commerce | June 1, 2026 www. joc. com