Hyundai to import cars through Philadelphia

Hyundai to import cars through Philadelphia    Hyundai Motor Co. and its logistics affiliate Glovis of America will import and process 150,000 Hyundai and Kia vehicles annually through the Port of Philadelphia starting in May, said Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell Wednesday.
   The cars will be offloaded at Packer Avenue Marine Terminal and processed at an auto finishing facility at Pier 98 Annex.
   The state said the deal was a year in the making and will create the equivalent of 276 full-time jobs and 415 jobs throughout the region, for the work involved in unloading vehicles and preparing them for sale. Once completed, the cars are likely to leave the facility by truck and possibly by rail. Glovis previously moved the automobiles through facilities in Newark, N.J., and Baltimore.
   'This is substantial and very welcome new business for the Port of Philadelphia,' said John H. Estey, chairman of the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority. 'Our current projections indicate that 100 new vessels a year will result from this business, as well as a big increase in trucking and rail activity.”
   Thomas J. Holt Jr., chairman of Holt Logistics Corp., which operates the Packer terminal, said, “It has been more than a decade since the port has handled shipments of new autos, and the new business represents a major step forward.”
   The announcement follows an October 2009 agreement between PRPA and Philly Ro-Ro Partners for the latter to operate the 85-acre automobile processing facility at Pier 98 Annex in South Philadelphia. The port authority will make up to $1 million in capital improvements to the Pier 98 Annex facility and Philly Ro-Ro Partners will contribute $3.7 million in improvements.
   'This brings all of our people back to work full-time instead of part-time,' said Boise Butler, president of International Longshoreman's Association Local 1291, whose members will remove cars from incoming vessels. ' Chris Dupin