Georgia's Port of Brunswick becomes the largest US automobile port, surpassing Baltimore

In this photo provided by the Georgia Port Authority, international longshoremen drive some of the first Kia Tellurides to be exported via the Port of Brunswick to the roll-on/roll-off vessel Sirius, Tuesday Feb., 26, 2019, at Colonel's Island Terminal in Brunswick, Ga. (Stephen Morton/Georgia Port Authority via AP, File)

The Port of Brunswick rode double-digit growth to become the top U.S. seaport for automobiles last year, Georgia officials said Wednesday, surpassing the Port of Baltimore after it shut down for weeks following a deadly bridge collapse.

Georgia Ports Authority CEO Griff Lynch made the announcement during a luncheon speech in Brunswick, a small coastal city of 15,000 that state officials have turned into a leading gateway for automobile imports and exports as well as farm and construction equipment.

Brunswick’s port moved 841,000 cars and trucks across its docks in the 2024 calendar year. That’s an increase of more than 13% over the previous year. Lynch said the boom coincided with $262 million in improvements completed last fall that expanded Brunswick’s capacity for processing and storing autos.