SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — The Georgia Ports Authority said Tuesday that it moved a record number of automobiles across its docks in Brunswick last year, while goods shipped to Savannah in cargo containers declined 16%.
The Port of Brunswick rolled more than 775,000 autos and heavy machinery units on and off ships in the 2023 calendar year, when U.S. auto sales saw their biggest increase in more than a decade. That is the port’s highest ever auto and machinery total and an increase of more than 15% over the previous year.
The news comes as port authority CEO Griff Lynch has set a goal of Brunswick surpassing the Port of Baltimore as the No. 1 U.S. port for automobile imports and exports. The Georgia agency is investing $262 million in upgrades and expansions to make room for growth at the Brunswick port, located about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of Savannah.
“We have been investing in Brunswick. We’ve been creating capacity in Brunswick,” Lynch said in an interview, adding that more growth is possible in 2024. “Autos are strong. I mean, the economy will drive the autos, so we’ll have to see how that plays out. But right now, they’re strong.”
Auto shipments into Georgia boomed last year as sales surged amid pent-up demand following a computer chip shortage that slowed assembly lines.