RO-RO\\\ >> 14
the main street of the U.S. East
Coast, and are very close to Interstate 70, which is a major link to the Midwest.” The port is served by two
on-dock rail lines. It has four on-dock auto processors and a unique, industry-renowned quality program.
Georgia Ports
Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) Executive Director Griff Lynch
Issue 9 2018 - FBJNA
our base, service them well, and attract new business.” Lynch reports that 630,000
units of cars, trucks and tractors weighing in at 1.25 million tons were handled through GPA terminals in Fiscal Year 2018, which ended June 30. That number is expected to increase. Already, GPA’s Port of
Brunswick achieved a 37.6% increase in ro/ro trade in September with an increase of 13,811 automotive and heavy
docks and the island’s south side. These improvements will offer a more direct route to existing auto processing lots and new development on the south end of the terminal. By 2019, the GPA will have
added 250 acres, for a total of 550 acres of leasable space for auto processing at Colonel’s Island Terminal. Current annual capacity in Brunswick
is more than 800,000 units. GPA’s plan is to utilize an additional 400 acres to bring annual throughput capacity to 1.5 million vehicles in the coming years. “The bottom line is we will
continue to invest as we always have,” Lynch told FBJNA. “Regardless
of the market,
GPA’s secret has been to forge ahead with our strategic
and capital expenditure plans. Are confident with our demographics and projected growth. We want to make sure are ready and have enough land.” Given that Colonel’s Island
is a leased facility, the goal is to stay 20% ahead of capacity. “That way we can absorb demand,” he reveals. “We have changed our strategy as far as
15
how to develop this land.” While GPA does not
plan to overbuild its land, development is being done in planned phases to shorten time lines. “We know that growth in the Southeast is outpacing the rest of the country,” he says. “That is giving us a lot of confidence.” L y n c h adds that in
16>> GPA’S $128 MILLION MASON MEGA RAIL TERMINAL
Traditionally strong for JAXPORT is service to and from the primary areas of production and consumption in Japan and Europe. (JAXPORT photo.)
believes that now that USMCA negotiations are complete, the new agreement will actually help GPA. The reason, he says: short sea shipping. “Short sea shipping has
grown 150% year over year,” Lynch says. “That now equates to 10% of all autos we handle. That’s a big deal.” While he expects the
agreement will see some tweaks and changes, short sea
cargo, he says, will
continue flowing and growing. Particularly impacting GPA seaports is short sea service from Almira and Vera Cruz, Mexico. He adds that the auto sector
should feel little impact from tariffs wars between the US and China since trade is minimum in this sector. Instead, he says, the bigger impact will be felt by dropping auto sales overall. “A couple of years ago we hit a peak in auto sales in US at 17.5 million cars and trucks,” Lynch says. “Sales have been slightly dropping for two years, as has been expected.” This does not mean there are
not big opportunities for the ro- ro sector at GPA. “We recognize that true growth comes from new customers in the port,” he says. “And we want to maintain
equipment units for a total of 50,515 units. At 1,700 acres, Brunswick’s
Colonel Island is the nation’s largest autoport and the second busiest port
for the
automotive trade behind the Port of Baltimore. Helping to grow the business,
however, is an expansion project for processing autos and heavy machinery that is expected to grow its annual capacity in the coming years from more than 800,000 units to 1.5 million units. To meet that goal, over the
next 12 months GPA will be adding 60 dockside acres will add 8,250 spaces for auto storage and double Brunswick’s rail capacity. This will give Brunswick the ability to build up 10,000-foot long unit trains on terminal. These longer trains make direct service over greater distances more attractive to Brunswick’s Class I rail roads, CSX and Norfolk Southern. This will allow the Port of Brunswick to expand service in markets west of the Mississippi River and into the American Midwest. Vehicles crossing the Brunswick docks are already moving west in significant numbers, with 16,000 units sent to California from Brunswick and more than 4,500 to Texas during FY2018. GPA also plans to add a new
cross-terminal road linking the three vessel berths, as well as a new access road between the
...ON A WHOLE NEW SCALE OPERATIONAL IN
DOUBLES GPA RAIL CAPACITY TO EXTENDS REACH TO
1 MILLION CONTAINER LIFTS PER YEAR AMERICAN MIDWEST
CUTS TRANSIT TIMES BY 24 HOURS
MASONMEGARAIL.COM
2020
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24