The first vessel, named the “Hyundai 230”, arrived August 2, at the South Philadelphia terminal, carrying 1,811 vehicles from two ports in South Korea. At 8:00 a.m. today, ILA work crews began unloading the vehicles from the vessel and transporting them to the adjacent auto finishing facility at Pier 98 Annex at Columbus Boulevard and Oregon Avenue, by the Walt Whitman Bridge. Teamster labor will handle the vehicles once they arrive at Pier 98 Annex. Once processed at Pier 98 Annex, the vehicles will leave the facility by truck and possibly rail for delivery to Hyundai and Kia dealerships throughout the United States.
The delivery is the culmination of more than a year’s work in bringing this business to the Port of Philadelphia. Ultimately this business is expected to create 276 full-time job equivalencies locally, and 415 jobs throughout the region. As many as 100 new vessels a year will result from this business.
In April, Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell announced that the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority and Holt Logistics Corporation had reached an agreement with Hyundai Motor Co. and its logistics affiliate, Glovis of America, to import and process 150,000 Hyundai and Kia vehicles annually through Packer Avenue Marine Terminal. Holt Logistics Corp. has a long-term lease with PRPA to operate the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal.
Philly Ro-Ro Partners will operate PRPA’s 85-acre automobile processing facility at Pier 98 Annex. PRPA will make up to $1 million in capital improvements to the facility, and Philly Ro-Ro Partners will contribute $3.7 million in improvements, turning a well-equipped automobile-handling center into one that is state-of-the-art. Many of these improvements have already been made to ready the facilities for the initial vessel calls.
“This much-anticipated relationship brings substantial new business to the Port of Philadelphia,” Chairman Estey said, in response to news of the arrival of the first vessel today. “We have many people to thank for their hard work and commitment, including Governor Rendell, Glovis, Philly Ro-Ro, Holt Logistics, the staff of the PRPA, and the dedicated men and women in our labor community.”
Glovis previously moved these automobiles through facilities in Newark, N.J. and Baltimore.
The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority is an independent agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania charged with the management, maintenance, marketing, and promotion of publicly owned port facilities along the Delaware River in Philadelphia, as well as strategic planning in the port district. PRPA works with its terminal operators to modernize, expand, and improve its facilities, and to market those facilities to prospective port users. Port cargoes and the activities they generate are responsible for thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the Philadelphia area and throughout Pennsylvania, as well as numerous other economic benefits.
