ATLANTA – The Port of Brunswick handled an all-time record of 91,360 units of Roll-on/Roll-off cargo last month, up 18% compared to March of last year, the Georgia Ports Authority reported Tuesday.
As was the case with container trade at the Port of Savannah, higher volumes of vehicles and heavy equipment at Brunswick was due in part to customers front-loading orders to avoid new tariffs. The Port of Brunswick has become the nation’s busiest for Roll-on/Roll-off cargo.
“More manufacturers are making Colonel’s Island a main hub for the global trade of autos and machinery,” said Griff Lynch, the ports authority’s president and CEO. “Brunswick’s central location in the fast-growing U.S. Southeast market and unmatched capacity to take on new business mean our customers can plan for the long term.”
To better handle growing trade at Brunswick, the first phase of a new railyard on the south side of Colonel’s Island Terminal will be completed next month. That will double rail capacity from five to 10 trains per week, increasing the port’s annual rail capacity from about 150,000 autos to more than 340,000.
A second phase in the project will bring annual rail capacity to 590,000 units, more than three times the current capacity.
The ports authority also recently competed $262 million in capacity upgrades in Brunswick, including new warehousing and vehicle processing space. A fourth berth for Ro/Ro vessels is in the engineering phase.
Lynch said uncertainty over tariffs has not affected the agency’s plans to invest $4.2 billion in capacity expansions at Savannah and Brunswick during the next decade.