Auto Manufacturing News

Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia has announced the Telluride, its new eight-passenger SUV, will be shipped to the Port of Brunswick for global markets this month.“The launch of the Kia Telluride, our largest and most refined SUV to date, will be a monumental achievement for KMMG,” said Countess. “From the support we receive from GPA with our inbound parts from our global supply chain to supporting our export of finished vehicles to current and future markets, GPA will play an important role.”Through vertical integration – parts in via Savannah, autos out via Brunswick – Kia takes advantage of Georgia’s extensive road and rail infrastructure…

APM Terminals has announced orders for 12 remote-controlled Ship-to-Shore (STS) cranes and 32 Automated Rail-Mounted Gantry Cranes (ARMGs) to equip the new five million TEU* APM Terminals MedPort Tangier facility now under construction at the Tanger-Med II port complex. The container terminal will be the second operated by APM Terminals at the Tanger-Med port complex designed to serve the newest Ultra-Large Container Ships (ULCS) with capacities up to 20,000 TEUs. APM Terminals MedPort Tangier will have up to 2,000 meters of quay length and increase the Tanger-Med complex’s overall capacity to over nine million TEUs. The facility complements APM Terminals Tangier which handled 1.7 million TEUs in 2015.

With 1,300 new Indian-built Ford automobiles loaded onto the Grand Dahlia on August 27th for delivery to Mexico, a new era for the Indian auto industry and Gujarat Port Pipavav commenced. The 59,217 gross ton roll on/roll off (Ro/Ro) vessel was the first to call Western India’s fastest-growing port, operated as part of the APM Terminals Global Terminal Network. APM Terminals Pipavav announced the inauguration of Ro/Ro operations at the multi-purpose port last June after concluding an agreement with Japanese-based NYK subsidiary NYK Auto Logistics (NAL) India for finished car export services and the construction of a new automobile services terminal.

Organizers of Jacksonville Port Authority's (JAXPORT) biennial 'Logistics & Intermodal Conference' have released the list of panel topics for discussion at the upcoming 2015 conference. The overall theme for 2015 is "Challenges Facing Shippers in South Atlantic Ports,” and the conference will feature five panel discussions sharing insights, solutions and successes. Panelists will be announced soon and will include senior executives from major ocean carriers, railroads, shippers and service providers. JAXPORT’s conference is designed for senior level executives in logistics and transportation, offering a unique opportunity to network with industry leaders and hear speakers from around the country discussing topics of interest to decision makers.

The Georgia Ports Authority moved more than 29 million tons of cargo, 3 million twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) and more than 700,000 auto and machinery units in Fiscal Year 2014. “The board and staff of the Georgia Ports Authority are to be commended for their outstanding achievements this year,” said Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal. “Our ports’ success is a win for us all, and a direct result of Georgia’s commitment to the GPA and support for critical port infrastructure projects such as the harbor deepening and enhanced access to I-95 and I-16.

The Georgia Ports Authority has won new import business from Honda. The 2015 Honda Fit, built at the carmaker’s new plant in Celaya, Mexico, is moving into the U.S. through the Port of Brunswick. International Auto Processing (IAP) will handle the cars upon arrival. “Highlighting the truly global nature of auto manufacturing, a Japanese company building cars in Mexico has chosen Georgia’s deepwater ports as a vital gateway to the U.S.,” said GPA Executive Director Curtis Foltz.

Until January of this year, Sean Connaughton oversaw seven state agencies with more than 9,700 employees and combined annual budgets of $5 billion. Connaughton is probably better known to MarineNews readers as the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administrator during the second Bush Administration. As U.S. Maritime Administrator, he was responsible for the daily management of that agency and its promotional programs for the marine transportation industry. This included advising and assisting the Secretary of Transportation on commercial maritime matters…

The Great Lakes Maritime Task Force (GLMTF) has expressed its disappointment that the second Poe-sized lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan did not receive any Federal stimulus dollars. GLMTF stated that Congress has strongly supported the project, authorizing the lock at full Federal expense in 2007, and approving tens of millions of dollars in Federal construction funding, including $17 million recently in the FY09 Appropriations Bill. “It is incomprehensible that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not include the new Soo lock in projects that will be funded from its share of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA),” said Donald Cree, President of Great Lakes Maritime Task Force, the largest coalition promoting waterborne commerce on the Great Lakes.