Business Agreements: Baltimore, Georgia, Kalama, North Carolina

Grimaldi Group Names Vessel at Port of Baltimore

The Grimaldi Group’s Grande Baltimora roll on/roll off vessel was officially named on October 31, during a ceremony at the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore’s Fairfield Marine Terminal.

The Grande Baltimora is a pure car & truck carrier ro/ro vessel with a length of 656 feet, a beam of 106 feet and a service speed of 19 knots. The new Italian-flag vessel can transport 6,700 Car Equivalent Units (CEUs) or alternatively 4,000 linear meters of oversized farm and construction machinery and 2,500 CEUs.

The Port of Baltimore has handled more cars and farm and construction equipment than any other U.S. port for several years. Combining both the public and private marine terminals, the Port of Baltimore saw 31.8 million tons of international cargo cross its docks last year which was valued at approximately $49.9 billion. Baltimore is ranked as the top port among all U.S. ports for handling autos and light trucks, farm and construction machinery, imported gypsum, imported sugar, and imported aluminum. Overall, Baltimore is ranked ninth for the total dollar value of cargo and 14th for cargo tonnage for all U.S. ports.

"Grimaldi and ACL are long-time partners of the Port of Baltimore. We look forward to seeing Grande Baltimora return to our port many more times," said MDOT Maryland Port Administration Executive Director James J. White.

Honda Triples Business Through Georgia Port Authority

American Honda Motor Company nearly tripled its business through the Port of Brunswick in Fiscal Year 2017, adding 34,700 vehicles over the previous year.

"In Georgia, we're focused on providing the kind of environment that enables companies to reach their greatest potential," said GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood. "Honda's success at the Port of Brunswick is one more example of how a service-oriented mindset helps the Peach State win new business."

During the annual State of the Port hosted by the Brunswick-Golden Isles Chamber of Commerce last month, Lynch announced that the GPA had increased capacity at the Colonel's Island facility, already the nation's single largest auto processing terminal, by 50 percent in FY17. GPA grew the Brunswick auto port from 60,000 auto processing spaces to 90,000 spaces.

In FY17, the GPA handled 607,000 units of roll-on/roll-off cargo in Brunswick. Honda's total trade grew by 267 percent to reach 47,700 vehicles moved via Brunswick.

Bridger Steel Chooses to Expand Operations at Port of Kalama

Bridger Steel Inc., a metal manufacturer of panel systems for roofing, siding and interior applications, has signed a lease with the Port of Kalama for 30,000 square feet of office and warehouse space and another 10,000-square-foot covered area for loading trucks. Bridger, which is the first tenant in the port’s new 110,000-square-foot industrial building, will provide many of its own manufactured metal materials for the new building at the Kalama River Industrial Park and expects to break ground in December.

"The Port of Kalama is the ideal location for us to expand our business facilities and better serve our customers in the Pacific Northwest," says Steve Collins, national sales and marketing director at Bridger Steel Inc. "Kalama’s location and proximity to I-5 will enable us to serve a very large area of the Pacific Northwest very quickly."

Bridger Steel, which is expected to open its Kalama facility in the summer of 2018, joins a growing number of industries and businesses who have found the Port of Kalama an ideal location to grow their businesses. The port boasts a state-of-the-art industrial park with buildings ideal for manufacturing, technology, storage and many other industry sectors. Sixteen acres of public riverfront parks stand out as popular recreational destinations for both locals and tourists.

North Carolina to Begin New Partnership with Crowley

North Carolina Ports is excited to begin a new partnership with Crowley Maritime Corporation to provide weekly, fixed-day shipping and logistics services between the Port of Wilmington, Guatemala and Honduras.

The new groundbreaking service makes the Port of Wilmington the northernmost Atlantic Coast destination for cargo entering the United States from Central America. The Northern Zone service expands the ports’ impacts on the ever-growing textiles and legacy apparel industry across the Southeast region.

To prepare for this new partnership and record setting growth, North Carolina Ports has ordered three new ultra-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes from designer Shanghai Zhenjua Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. (ZPMC). Between the new cranes, turning basin expansion project, various berth improvements, and the expansion of the container yard, North Carolina Ports will pump more than $200 million into its infrastructure over the next two and a half years.

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