SIMIC

US GULF and southeast ports are promoting themselves as the best positioned to be of use to an electric vehicle (EV) supply chain boom after news spread that there would be US$50 billion invested in that sector in the region, reports New York's Journal of Commerce.
Auto makers and Tier 1 suppliers in 2022 announced just under $50 billion in plans for new North American manufacturing plants, according to the Centre for Automotive Research (CAR), bringing the two-year total of such investments to $90 billion.
The US southeast is the biggest beneficiary, CAR said, with $44 billion of new plant investments announced since 2020.
"All the Southeast and Gulf ports are really going to benefit from EV production," said Georgia Ports Authority chief commercial officer Cliff Pyron. "In time, it's definitely going to grow."
Georgia has seen $15.5 billion in EV manufacturing announcements, CAR said. South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group announced last year it would build a $5 billion plant near Savannah. Once completed in 2025, the plant will be capable of producing 300,000 EVs per year.
Beyond Georgia, Mr Pyron said he expects Savannah, via its intermodal rail service, to be an import gateway for other states including Tennessee, Alabama, Ohio, and Kentucky, which have been targeted for a combined $30 billion in manufacturing investments.
Savannah is already handling EV-related freight for Mercedes-Benz, which started producing electric vehicles last year at a plant in Vance, Alabama, Mr Pyron said.
Alabama's Port of Mobile's intermodal service also aims to serve Alabama's burgeoning EV industry, said Alabama Port Authority CEO John Driscoll.
Hyundai said last October it would build a new $205 million battery plant near Montgomery, Alabama, by 2024 to support a nearby car factory, which itself is getting a $300 million expansion to produce two models of electric vehicles.
Hyundai is the anchor customer for the Montgomery inland port that APA and CSX Transportation expect to open in 2025.
Mobile's reach could also extend further north thanks to the 2023 US federal budget. It includes $18 million in appropriations for improving intermodal service to Birmingham, which is also near the Mercedes-Benz Vance plant.
Another $60 million was set aside for developing an inland port in northern Alabama. There, Toyota and Mazda opened a $2.3 billion joint venture in 2021 near Huntsville.
Mr Driscoll did not provide any specific plans around another inland port, but all those cities are within a day's service from the Port of Mobile via rail, he noted.
"We've had a lot of interest from the car manufacturers that are going to be producing electric vehicles," Mr Driscoll said. "That's one of the primary reasons why we're investing in inland ports near these facilities."
Further north, General Motors and LG Energy's joint venture Ultium Cells is expected to start producing EV batteries at a $2.5 billion plant near Nashville, Tennessee, in late 2023.
Ford and South Korean conglomerate SK on are partners in a $5.6 billion EV truck and battery plant planned near Memphis that is expected to start production in 2025.
With Canadian National Railway offering service from Mobile to Memphis and CSX offering service to Nashville, Mr Driscoll said his agency is promoting the port as a gateway for Tennessee-bound freight.
South Carolina Ports Authority (SCPA) chief commercial officer Byron Miller looks to capitalize on EV boom now that $7 billion of EV-related investments are planned for the state.
BMW has invested $1.7 billion in South Carolina to start producing EVs by 2026, including a new battery plant near the Greer inland port. Last October, parts supplier Bosch started producing EV motors at its Charleston plant.
And Redwood Materials plans a $3.5 billion EV battery recycling plant just outside of Charleston by next year.
The Canadian National Railway is offering service from Mobile to Memphis and CSX offering service to Nashville, and Mr Driscoll said his agency is promoting the port as a gateway for Tennessee-bound freight.
"It's more of a burgeoning market for us," he said. "We handle some cargo going there, but it's an area that we are targeting for growth."