New Castle-based Autoport is expanding into Florida with the planned opening of a site at Port Canaveral.
Autoport will commence central Florida operations in January 2016.
The company modifies and ships vehicles, It is also involved in the conversion of vehicles to all electric operation. Autoport, leased 16 acres at the Florida port and has the option to add more space as shipments increase.
The Florida lease is a tiny fraction of the 175 acres it has at the Port of Wilmington.
Roy A. Kirchner, Autoport CEO, said the Florida operation aims to take advantage of increasing congestion at East Coast ports and rising automotive production in Mexico.
The lower cost environment in Mexico is leading to a sharp increase in automobile and truck production, according to Kirchner.
The added production is putting strains on that nation’s rail and trucking system, leading to more short voyages to ports in the U.S. and ports like Canaveral could benefit, he added.
AutoPort employs 120 people at the Port of Wilmington.
The operation will be good for the Port of Wilmington by strengthening Autoport’s East Coast presence and vowed that the company will continue to push Wilmington.
Port Canaveral is viewed as a key part of an effort to revitalize the economy in that area after the end of the shuttle program at nearby Cape Canaveral. The Florida deep water port has a busy cruise ship business and in 1914 installed cranes in an effort to bolster its cargo business.
Earlier this year, Autoport announced plans to modify and do export work on Chrysler vehicles headed for the Middle East. The vehicles are shipped by rail to AutoPort for modification and then shipped out of the Port of Wilmington.
The privately held company was established in 1981. Over that period it has handled, processed and modified more than two million vehicles for U.S. based operations of Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, American Honda, Suzuki, Mitsubishi and Toyota
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