The Georgia Ports Authority has achieved eight consecutive months of growth for Roll-on/Roll-off cargo. The Port of Brunswick handled 62,100 units of vehicles and heavy equipment in March, while Savannah’s Ocean Terminal added another 1,700 units, for a total of 63,800, according to the company's release.
March volumes increased 22 percent over the same month last year.
For the fiscal year to date through March, GPA has handled 540,735 units of vehicles and heavy equipment, an increase of 80,443 units or 17.5 percent. GPA’s monthly average in Fiscal Year 2023 for Ro/Ro cargo is now 60,082 units, compared to FY22’s average of 51,144.
Pyron noted European automakers were especially hard hit by the chip shortage, and are now benefiting from increased chip availability. He added that with manufacturers increasing production capacity in Mexico, Brunswick is positioned well to receive additional short-sea trade.
To expand capacity at Colonel’s Island, construction has started on 350,000 square feet of near-dock warehousing that will serve auto processing, as well as three additional buildings and 85 acres of auto storage on the south side of the island. A planned fourth berth for Ro/Ro vessels is in the engineering phase.
The projects will increase annual capacity in Brunswick from 1.2 million to 1.4 million units of Ro/Ro cargo.
Georgia’s deepwater ports and inland barge terminals support more than 561,000 jobs throughout the state annually, and contribute $33 billion in income, $140 billion in revenue and $3.8 billion in state and local taxes to Georgia’s economy.