Georgia Ports set ro/ro record
The Georgia Ports Authority marked a record month in April for autos and the fourth busiest month in the authority’s history for total tonnage. In autos and heavy machinery, the GPA handled 60,974 units, Cargonews Asia reports.
“The Colonel’s Island terminal at the Port of Brunswick handled the majority of this roll-on/roll-off cargo, with 59,926 units,” said GPA executive director Curtis Foltz. “Georgia’s deepwater ports are perfectly positioned to take advantage of the growing export market for vehicles and heavy equipment produced in Georgia and around the southeast.”
The Colonel’s Island Terminal volume increased 57.7 percent over April 2011, or 21,916 additional units. For the fiscal year to date, Brunswick has handled 448,118 units, a 17.5 percent increase over Fiscal 2011to date, or 66,603 additional units.
In anticipation of increased heavy machinery exports, the GPA board in March approved US$2.8 million in structural upgrades at Colonel’s Island for roads, bridges, staging areas and rail loading/offloading areas. The Brunswick facility is the nation’s fifth busiest port for import-export of ro/ro cargo, and the third busiest port for the export of US-made vehicles and machinery.
“The GPA’s strong performance in a number of commodities, along with a continued dominant market share in the southeast for containerised cargo, highlights the flexibility of our ports to serve a broad range of shipping customers,” said board chairman Alec Poitevint.
Across all terminals, the ports handled 2.3 million tonnes in April, the fourth highest volume on record, and less than 75,000 tonnes from the all-time high set in March.
Ocean Terminal handled 132,441 tonnes of break bulk cargo in April, up 18.8 percent or 20,981 tonnes from the same month in the previous year. For the fiscal year to date, the terminal handled 1.06 million tonnes of break bulk cargo, up 19 percent over FY2011 through April.