BMW to expand auto production in S.C.

   BMW’s announcement Friday that it will invest $1 billion to expand its plant in Spartanburg County, S.C., underscores the increasing resurgence in domestic U.S. manufacturing, growth in foreign direct investment, the strength of the U.S.-based auto industry and growing auto exports.
   The German auto maker’s expansion is made possible in part by the Port of Charleston.
   The addition of a fifth vehicle platform — the X7 SUV — at the plant will increase production capacity from 350,000 units to 450,000 units per year, making the Spartanburg facility the highest-capacity plant in the BMW global system by the end of 2016. The company recently completed a $900 million expansion to produce the X4.
   BMW has been building automobiles in South Carolina since 1994 and employs almost 8,000 people.
   Last year, the Spartanburg facility produced 297,326 vehicles for 140 global markets. More than 70 percent of the vehicles produced were exported. BMW is the Port of Charleston’s top user by cargo value and the anchor customer of South Carolina’s new inland port in Greer. BMW exports autos through the port’s Columbus Terminal and it imports about 20,000 containers per year with parts for the plant and nearby suppliers.
    The South Carolina Ports Authority opened the $35 million, 40-acre intermodal terminal in Greer last fall to facilitate imports and exports from the western part of the state and neighboring states. The Norfolk Southern railroad serves the facility and hauls cargo to and from North Charleston, a few miles from the marine terminals, so shippers don’t have to truck cargo all the way to the coast.
   “The South Carolina Ports Authority has a strong history with BMW, and their operations are a tremendous asset to our port,” Port Director Jim Newsome said in a statement issued by the South Carolina Department of Commerce. “They are the largest user of our premier roll-on/roll-off facility at Columbus Street, and their cargo commitment was a significant factor in our decision to open the Inland Port last year.”