The Port Canaveral opened its vehicle processing facility, welcoming 730 new vehicles aboard th, 653-foot-long vessel Wisteria Ace, the first vehicle carrier to call at the Port’s facility. The new automobiles were discharged at the Port’s 16-acre auto processing facility located alongside South Cargo Pier 4.
Another carrier, the Precious Ace, is planned to arrive next week with more than 850 new autos aboard.
Port Canaveral’s vehicle processing facility is alongside a dedicated berth, resulting in quick offloading of vehicles to the first and last point of rest. The secure paved facility contains a 20,000-square-foot, climate-controlled vehicle processing warehouse equipped with LED lighting and striped traffic lanes.
The terminal has current capacity of 100,000 vehicles annually with possibility to increase to 240,000 per year. All major markets in Florida and the US Southeast are accessible within eight hours drive from Port Canaveral.
Port Canaveral resumed operation of the vehicle processing facility when the former operator’s lease expired in January. The Port has invested in implementing a new advanced terminal operating system using cloud-based technology to allow adaptability to any OEM system.
This technology can integrate with the latest vehicle-tracking technologies to provide real-time reporting and facilitate tiered supplier efficiency.
A port-operated vehicle processing facility has inherent value for current and potential customers that aligns perfectly with our mission and translates to final-mile cost-saving advantages for vehicle importers and exporters. Operating the facility as a port authority enterprise gives us flexibility to respond to a customer’s unique requirements in a timely and efficient manner. What’s more, our location is a natural geographic center to access the high-volume, fast-paced dealer markets in Florida
commented Capt. John Murray, Port CEO
In Fiscal Year 2019, some 12,514 vehicles were processed at the facility.
