Port of Brunswick aiming for 1.4m car handling capacity

Georgia’s Port of Brunswick, currently the No. 2 auto port in the U.S., announced a planned 50 percent increase in roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) capacity increase and future plans to expand automobile processing spaces at the annual State of the Ports address.

   The Port of Brunswick – the second largest roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) facility in the United States – now has an annual capacity of 800,000 vehicles, said Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) Executive Director Griff Lynch at the annual State of the Ports address on Thursday.
   GPA has increased auto processing capacity at Colonel’s Island Terminal by 50 percent over the past 12 months, all of which has been absorbed by processors and manufacturers, said Lynch. The ro-ro terminal has expanded from 60,000 spaces in 2016 to 90,000 spaces today for a total capacity of 800,000 cars annually. Auto processors Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics, Mercedes and International Auto Processors have absorbed the additional space.
   The three processors have also added 200 acres to the south side of the ro-ro facility, bringing auto processing space to 600 acres, according to GPA.
   “Since last year, we’ve been implementing an aggressive growth plan, enabling GPA and our auto processing partners to win new customers and capture greater market share,” Lynch stated.
   “Last year, we told you we would be implementing an infrastructure investment philosophy we’ve used at Savannah’s container operation for years now,” said GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood. “That philosophy is to maintain capacity above current demand. Investing for the future has enabled the GPA to take on new customers and handle greater than expected container growth without congestion or capacity worries. We anticipate the same benefits for the auto trade here in Brunswick.”
   Future plans for Brunswick will allow the movement, processing and storage of 1.4 million vehicles annually.
   “Growing our infrastructure will allow GPA to better serve the needs of auto processors and manufacturers as they rely more heavily on our terminal to meet customer demands,” said Lynch. “This investment puts the Colonel’s Island facility on track to become the nation’s No. 1 auto port.”
   Lynch also updated conference attendees on the state of maintenance dredging, which is expected to bring the Brunswick River to its authorized depth of 36 feet by 2018. Over $10 million dollars of federal funding from fiscal year 2017 will roll over into the current fiscal year along with the proposed budget of $4.5 million, said Lynch.
   “As the vessels serving the Port of Brunswick grow larger, it becomes more important for this port to receive sufficient federal dollars to maintain the channel at its full authorized depth,” said Lynch. “We are happy to report that the upward trend in harbor maintenance funding appears to be continuing into the current fiscal year.”
   The Port of Savannah is also in the midst of dredging, with 35 percent of the operation completed.
   Lynch also discussed the bulk operations at the port, with commodities growing 12 percent to reach 135,250 tons, animal feed increasing 7.7 percent to 66,725 tons and salt growing 44 percent to 56,670 tons at the East River Terminal, which is operated by Logistec.
   However, the terminal’s largest commodity, wood pellets, dipped 11.7 percent tons for a total of 461,114 tons in fiscal year 2017. Wood pellets are projected to reach 600,000 tons, or a 30 percent increase, in the current fiscal year, Lynch remarked.