04/17/2026
๐ช๐๐๐ง ๐๐ฆ ๐ง๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก๐ฆ๐๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐ง๐ช๐๐๐ก ๐ง๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฅ๐ง ๐ข๐ ๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐ฆ๐๐๐ก ๐๐จ๐๐?
THE BALTIMORE PORT OBSERVER
(Issue #1 APRIL 16, 2026)
A Product of the Center for the Study of the Port of Baltimore
Stevenson University
INTRODUCTION
Much of the public discussion related to the war in the Persian Gulf has focused on oil. However, a closer look at the data tells a different story. What has been missing from the discussion is solid, evidence-based research. With the announcement that the Strait of Hormuz has reopened this morning, the following report helps illustrate the relationship between our port and Gulf goods. It answers the broad question: โExactly what commodities enter the Port of Baltimore from the Persian Gulf nations?โ
Researchers at the Center for the Study of the Port of Baltimore at Stevenson University engaged in a project that measured exactly how much cargoโand what types of cargoโentered the Port of Baltimore from the Persian Gulf in 2025. We believe this is an important illustration of Baltimoreโs connection to that region. What we uncovered in this project is important, in some ways surprising, and serves to justify the work our Center undertakes on behalf of the public.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of our project was simple, but the methods were complex. We set out to identify which commodities flowed from the Persian Gulf to the Port of Baltimore in 2025. Specifically, we researched how many shipments arrived in Baltimore via the Strait of Hormuz and which commodities were included in those shipments.
METHODOLOGY
Our procedure for determining the answer to our questions was straightforward. Given data detailing imports from the Persian Gulf states, extract the number of shipments received at the Port of Baltimore from the Persian Gulf in 2025, determine the goods involved in those shipments, and categorize which goods were associated with specific Gulf countries and in what amounts.
Our methodology was far more detailed and granular in nature than many other analyses that rely on aggregated data and statistics. Instead, we examined the bill of lading for each shipment imported into Baltimore in 2025. A bill of lading (BoL) is the legal shipping document that serves as a receipt for goods. There is usually one BoL per shipment, and it records 41 columns of information about that shipment. The source for the BoLs used in the project was ImportInfo, an online commercial database focused on U.S. import records.
The dataset represented all BoLs for the Port of Baltimore in 2025, and the resulting spreadsheet was extremely large. With each BoL representing one row of a spreadsheet 41 columns wide, the spreadsheet contained as many rows as there were shipments to Baltimore in 2025. In the case of the Port of Baltimore, the full 2025 dataset had 303,216 rows, or roughly 12.5 million data cells.
After searching that spreadsheet for all shipments originating in the Persian Gulf, passing through the Strait of Hormuz, and being delivered to the Port of Baltimore, the search uncovered 1,103 such shipments.
RESULTS
Tables reflecting our results can be seen in the accompanying images.
SUMMARY OF RESULTS
Shipments to the Port of Baltimore from Persian Gulf countries in 2025 numbered 1,103 and totaled 517,105 US tons. They arrived from eight ports in five Gulf countries.
One commodity, aluminum, accounted for 89.7% of imports from the Persian Gulf by weight. An additional 29,000 tons of raw steel and steel products were imported into Baltimore from Gulf states. Together, aluminum and steel accounted for 95% of all shipments by weight to Baltimore from the Persian Gulf.
Surprisingly, bills of lading reflected no bulk deliveries of Persian Gulf petroleum or petroleum products to Baltimore. Despite the Persian Gulf being famous for oil, not a single ton of petroleum or petroleum products arrived in Baltimore from that region in 2025.
Carpets, carpet flooring squares, and plastic materials constituted roughly 2.75% of the Gulfโs shipments received in Baltimore. The next largest category by weight, household goods and cars, totaled less than 1% of goods delivered to Baltimore. Since the Gulf states have a reputation for their deserts and arid climate, it was also surprising to see logs and wheat as commodities shipped from the Persian Gulf to our port.
DISCUSSION
Aluminum
The absence of bulk petroleum imports to the Port of Baltimore from the Persian Gulf states is explained by the fact that those oil exports are received by US ports on the West Coast and along the Gulf of Mexico. In 2025, Port of Los Angeles / Long Beach received about 47% of all Gulf state petroleum-related exports to the US, and ports in Houston/Texas City, Corpus Christi, and offshore Louisiana, the lionโs share of the remainder. In 2025, Baltimore received far more petroleum-related shipments from Canada in the form of bitumen, roofing flux, and asphalt than it did oil from the Persian Gulf.
Another surprise was that roughly 90% of our portโs imports from Gulf countries were in the form of aluminum. Although Gulf nations lack significant domestic bauxite resources, they import alumina and use their abundant, low-cost electricity to produce aluminum in vast amounts.
Aluminum production is one of the most electricity-intensive manufacturing processes in the world. To manufacture one ton of aluminum, approximately 14-15 megawatt hours/ton is required. In other words, the amount of electricity necessary to manufacture one ton of aluminum from raw materials is equivalent to powering a house continuously for over 52 weeksโlights, appliances, heating, and cooling included. Industry analysts often say that aluminum isnโt just a metalโitโs electricity turned into a solid form. This reflects the fact that its production depends on extremely large amounts of electrical energy (U.S. Energy Information Administration). In contrast, recycling aluminum is far more energy efficient. It requires 500โ1,000 kilowatt hours/ton, or the equivalent of about 2-3 weeks of a typical US householdโs regular electricity use. Recycling aluminum only uses about 5% of the electricity required for its original manufacture.
Sitting atop vast reserves of petroleum and natural gas, the Gulf nations have an abundance of what is usually the most expensive ingredient in the aluminum manufacturing process: cheap fuel to generate the necessary electricity for production. The low cost of maritime transport makes it economically attractive for Gulf States to import aluminumโs raw materials, bauxite and alumina, as needed. The finished aluminum is then exported worldwide. This is similar to the manufacturing sector in natural resource-deprived Japan.
Of the 463,000 tons of Persian Gulf aluminum that flowed into the Port of Baltimore, the vast majority of this aluminum was produced by Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA) and imported into the United States by its wholly owned subsidiary, EGA America. This reflects a vertically integrated supply chain in which production, export, and U.S. distribution are controlled by the same firm.
Household goods and vehicles
Nearly all of the household goods and cars delivered to the Port of Baltimore from the Persian Gulf region were not new products being sold into the retail distribution chain. Instead, they were the personal possessions of diplomatic, military, and corporate personnel being relocated from the Gulf to the United States.
Wheat and Logs
It is not intuitively obvious why wheat and logs arrived at Baltimoreโs port from the Gulf states in light of their desert-like environment. In each instance, none of the shipments of wheat and logs reflected cargo that had been grown in the Persian Gulf region. Instead, they were each commodities grown and harvested elsewhere that had been imported into the Gulf and transshipped to vessels scheduled to sail for Baltimore.
The Gulf states have several ports that specialize in receiving products from places like Australia and India, and reloading them onto other ships en route to other locations around the globe. The project determined that the wheat received from the Gulf area was raised and harvested in India. The 24 shipments of wheat-related products from the Gulf in 2025 were mostly packaged Indian whole-wheat flour (especially the popular Aashirvaad brand atta) plus some wheat gluten, semolina, and related processed wheat ingredients. They originated in India, were routed through Jebel Ali (UAE) as a transshipment hub, and then sent on to Baltimore for sale to Indian/ethnic grocery chains and food manufacturers in the U.S.
CONCLUSION
While much public attention is on oil, Baltimoreโs import data tells a different story. The Persian Gulf is not just supplying fuelโit is also feeding key American industries with aluminum and other industrial materials. The importance of this supply chain is reflected in global aluminum prices. In 2026, prices rose sharply as supply disruptions and energy costs increased. For Baltimore and the industries it serves, this means that disruptions in the Persian Gulf affect not only the flow of goods, but also the cost of doing business in the United States. The average price of aluminum rose from approximately $2,160 per short ton in April 2025 to about $3,230 per short ton in April 2026 โ an increase of roughly 50%.
