Georgia Now has the Largest U.S. RoRo Port as Sector Continues to Grow

 

The move of cars and trucks through U.S. ports continues to grow and as of 2024, Georgia’s Brunswick terminal has become the largest for handling RoRo volumes in the United States. The Georgia Port Authority has been investing in the facilities after deciding to concentrate RoRo volumes in Brunswick while Savannah becomes devoted to container handling.

During a State of the Port event on Wednesday, Georgia Ports President and CEO Griff Lynch highlighted the growth of the Colonel’s Island Terminal reporting it handled more than 2 million tons of Roll-on/Roll-off cargo in 2024. Brunswick achieved a record year, handling 901,912 units of autos and heavy equipment in 2024 with autos up 13.3 percent and heavy equipment up 160 percent. Brunswick also took the top spot in the nation at 600,000 tons for RoRo exports.

The operations in Georgia have been expanding rapidly in part due to the increased investment by car manufacturers in facilities in Georgia and the Southeast. The Port of Baltimore had long dominated the U.S. market for RoRo volumes. In 2023, Baltimore handled a record 765,019 tons up 42 percent. That consisted of approximately 847,000 cars and light trucks. 

Baltimore’s 2024 volume was of course impacted by the harbor being closed for weeks after the containership Dali destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in late March. Georgia became the destination for vehicle carriers that were diverting from Baltimore. The Georgia Ports Authority handled 80,600 units of RoRo cargo in April 2024, an increase of more than 44 percent or 24,760 units versus April 2023. Approximately 9,000 import vehicles and 1,000 high/heavy equipment they reported had been diverted from the Port of Baltimore.

Across-the-board improvements in our shipping channel, berths, rail capacity, storage, and processing capacity will help ensure that as their volumes grow, our customers will continue to enjoy world-class service and make long-term gains in their business,” said GPA Board Chairman Kent Fountain.

GPA highlights that $262 million in improvements at the Port of Brunswick were completed in 2024, adding new warehousing and processing space, as well as 122 acres of RoRo cargo storage. Construction has also started on a new railyard on Colonel’s Island, which will increase the port’s capacity to export vehicles arriving by rail.

Phase I of the new railyard will increase the port’s annual rail capacity from approximately 150,000 autos to more than 340,000 by mid-2025. Phase II will bring annual rail capacity to 590,000 units, greater than three times the current capacity. More than 90 percent of vehicles moving by rail in Brunswick are U.S.-made exports.

Separately, construction on a fourth RoRo berth is in the planning stages and is expected to start in the summer of 2025. The new berth should be complete in 2027 and will more efficiently accommodate vessels carrying 10,800+ car equivalent units (CEU).

Port officials highlight that one of the challenges they need to plan for is the increase in the size of the vessels and their capacity. Wallenius Wilhelmsen, which signed a 20-year agreement with the GPA in April 2024, reported in November that it was adjusting its orderbook. The company has a total of 14 Shaper class vessels on order, eight of which with a capacity of 11,700 CEU and six with a capacity of 9,300 CEU vessels.

Brunswick the GPA highlights has become a center of excellence for RoRo. They highlight the future berth, processing and land, connectivity, and harbor modifications all designed to support growth in the sector.