Toyota Will Consolidate Eastern Operations at Port Newark

The move will come late next year when Toyota's lease at the Port of Baltimore expires. The Japanese automaker's Port of Newark lease was set to expire in 2006, but the new agreement replaces that lease and extends through 2018. While no specific plans have been announced, Toyota is expected to substantially expand its facilities here, which currently support about 170 jobs.

"Increasing North American vehicle production and more direct shipment from plant to dealers is a major reason for our decision to consolidate operations at Port Newark for the handling of import vehicles," according to Jim Byers, vice president of logistics services for Toyota. "These network changes will allow us to deliver vehicles to our dealers more expeditiously while keeping transportation costs in check."

Toyota shipped some 117,500 vehicles through Port Newark last year, about 20% of the total vehicles processed there. Another 42,500 vehicles came through the Port of Baltimore, and post-consolidation operations are expected to process in the range of 150,000 vehicles a year. The total number will be offset slightly by some changes in Toyota's procedures for having vehicle accessories installed at its import hubs.

"This is a home run for our port," Sinagra enthuses. "It shows that our investments, such as improved road and rail access and channel-deepening projects, have made the Port of New York and New Jersey an attractive place for shippers and manufacturers around the world."

"Our cargo volumes are increasing, and our market share is growing," adds the port's executive director, Joseph J. Seymour. "With the signing of this lease with a major international company and the recent signing of 30-year leases by major container terminal operators, we believe that the high level of activity at our ports will continue to grow."