b'The K Line ro-ro vessel, Apollan Highway, discharges autos at Ceres Marine Terminals at the Port of Baltimore.both high and heavy ro/ ro vehicles andhighwaytransportation.Thevehicletanooga for Volkswagen and South Car-autos, Doyle added.This involvesdistributioncenterdeliverssignificantolina for BMW. Were working with a monthly meetings with all key logisticssupply chain advantages for dealershipscouple of different carriers as well as playerstogooverpastperformanceandconsumers,saidKerryDoyle,vehicle processors, said Doyle, and andcorrectanythingthatneedscor- managing director of Tradepoint Atlan- wearelookingtoexpandourro/ro recting.tic.footprint by anywhere from another 30 Tradepoint Atlantic The BMW operation at Tradepointto 50 acres. If that expansion comes Distribution Center Atlantic currently handles imported vehi- tofruition,itcouldincreaseTrade-Last year, BMW of North Amer- cles only, but there are plans to expandpoint Atlantics ro/ro acreage to 200 in ica opened a new vehicle distributiontheoperationtoincludedistributionoftotal and would provide the capacity to center at Tradepoint Atlantic, a 3,300- domesticallymanufacturedcars.Wehandle around 100,000 additional vehi-acre multimodal logistics and industrialmay get involved in BMWs mid-Atlan- cles per year. centeratthePortofBaltimore.Thetic distribution operation, said Doyle,Tradepoint Atlantics ro/ro opera-35-acresiteattheformerBethlehemwhich could involve positioning vehi- tion in Sparrows Point is something of Steel plant in Sparrows Point, includescles assembled in South Carolina fora paradigm shift when it comes to the anew75,000square-footbuilding,rail transport to the Northeast. BMWsro/ro business in North America. This doubling the size of the BMWs previ- productionfacilityinSpartanburg,is an industry where vehicle processors ous location at the port. BMW of NorthS.C.,whichopenedin1994,istheusually control the real estate, Kerry America also currently operates vehi- companys largest in the world, havingDoyle explained, but we wanted to do cle distribution centers in New Jersey,builtoverfivemillionvehiclessincedirect deals with the OEMs and focus Georgia,Texas,andCalifornia,serv- opening,includingover400,000inon having them plant their flag here for ing 350 BMW and 105 MINI dealers2021. the long term. Its because we are able nationwide. ThenewBMWfacilityfollowsto provide the substantial land mass as The new distribution center supportson the establishment of Volkswagenswell as the infrastructure that we have over 125 BMW and MINI dealers in the150-acre location at Tradepoint Atlan- put in place that we were able to secure central and eastern parts of the Unitedtic, which opened in 2018, becominglong term relationships with Volkswa-States.Besides receiving vehicles fromVWsprimaryportofentryforthegen and BMW.manufacturing facilities and acting as aU.S. East Coast. We continue to buildIts no wonder that the Port of Bal-distribution hub, the site also performsvolume on the import side, said Doyle,timore is enthusiastic about Tradepoint vehicle inspections, repairs, accessoryand we are also working with VW toAtlantics ro/ro developments. Trade-installations,vehicleprogramming,develop a rail connection between theirpoint Atlantics BMW vehicle process-and maintenance. The facility has theoperations in Chattanooga, Tennessee,ing center, said Port Director William capacitytoprocess100,000vehiclesand Baltimore. Doyle,isgoingtohelpthePortof annually. Tradepoint Atlantics future expan- Baltimore sustain our top ro/ro ranking TheTradepointAtlanticlocationsion plans for ro/ro at the Port of Bal- for years to come.providesBMWwithaccesstodeep- timoregoesbeyondthepotential water berths and proximity to rail andexpansion of rail connectivity to Chat-Back to Contents THE UNCONTAINED 19'