RO/RO\\\ >> 14


( QCHA T) initiative to


assess performance areas, identify problems, and take corrective action steps to improve the quality handling of the cargo at the port. The Port of Baltimore also


benefits from its proximity to major Midwest farm and construction equipment manufacturers such as John Deere, Caterpillar and CNH Industrial. According to the port’s publication, the port has also gained some new business with Oxbo, Rapid and Morroka. Maryland Port


Administration (MPA) data separates the port’s ro/ ro (farm and construction machinery) from autos. “With that said, our ro/ro is currently up 15% from last year and our autos are currently up 1% from our record year of 2018,” Scher emphasizes. As the number one port


in the U.S. for handling ro/ro and autos, nearly every ro/ ro carrier in the world comes to


the Port


Issue 9 2019 - FBJNA


the Port of Charleston handles an impressive 200,000 vehicles. During the call, COO Barbara Melvin told FBJNA that the port is ready for more. As part of the authority’s


overall $2.6 billion capex plan, she said, “We made a targeted, robust investment in Columbus Street Terminal, which was previously a container terminal, to make it a sophisticated roll-on/roll-off and to bring some stability.” Newsome sees growth


coming from Volvo, which, with BMW, operates its North American headquarters in the state, where the Swedish automaker expects to build 150,000 S60 midsize sedans annually by 2022.


Georgia Ports


High-end car manufacturers also figure into Port of Brunswick’s ro-ro boon. BMW and Mercedes-Benz,


of Baltimore.


Executives with companies such as Deere, point to this fact as being critical for accessing all major markets. But MPA officials do not rest


on their laurels. “We are currently making


infrastructure investments in our berths.


We are


reconstructing ro/ro berths at our Dundalk Marine Terminal to better handle the ship and cargo needs of today and tomorrow,” Scher says. With 13 berths, 4 container


cranes, and direct rail access, the 570-acre Dundalk Marine Terminal remains the largest and most versatile general cargo facility at the Port of Baltimore. The Port also recently


signed a 20-year, 150-acre agreement to serve as the East Coast hub for the largest ro/ro carrier


in the world,


Wallenius Wilhelmsen, with service from Dundalk Marine Terminal.


Port of Charleston


South Carolina Ports Authority CEO & President Jim Newsome told reporters in an October conference call that ro-ro represents “probably 10% to 15%” of its $252 million revenue—as reported in 2018. Even then,


with its North American plant in neighboring Alabama, operate vehicle processing centers at Brunswick’s Colonel’s Island Terminal, which is dedicated to ro-ro. The Brunswick port


handled 614,000 units in FY2019, figures show. When you add the 36,000 moved via the Ocean Terminal in Savannah, the state claims to be the nation’s second-busiest hub for the import-export of vehicles, machinery, and other types of ro-ro cargo, the authority reported in late October.


Colonel’s Island is


“ready to take on substantial business,” especially now that a new 40-acre dockside parcel has been completed for vehicle processing, Executive Director Griff Lynch told American Shipper in October.


JAXPORT


Over the past five years, JAXPORT’s ro/ro volumes have grown nearly 10%. During this time, the port imported about 2.1 million vehicles, and exported about 1.1 million, about a 2:1 ratio. “Japan, Mexico and Europe


(specifically Germany) are our top import markets,” reports Ben Buben, JAXPORT Director of Cargo Sales. “For U.S. manufactured exports, it’s West Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean. With


consumer demand in the Southeast U.S. remaining strong, we aren’t seeing any appreciable impact from tariffs at this time.” Newly manufactured


imports and exports made up the bulk of


JAXPORT’s


JAXPORT is one of the nation’s 17 US strategic seaports on call to move military cargo. (JAXPORT photo.)


auto business. JAXPORT is the nation’s No. 2 vehicle port by volume, and the port is on pace to reach or surpass the vehicle volume record set in fiscal year 2017.


15 JAXPORT recently reached


an agreement with port processor AMPORTS to add 22.4 new acres of property for auto processing and storage space at JAXPORT’s Dames Point Marine Terminal. “Combined with AMPORTS


current leasehold at JAXPORT’s Blount Island Marine Terminal, the company now leases more than 170 acres from JAXPORT,” Buben says.


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