North America’s busiest RO/RO motor vehicle seaports

Enormous Brunswick, Georgia RO/RO Terminal – Source: lloydslist.maritimeintelligence.informa.com

RO/RO seaports are those that service ships that import and export motor vehicles including cars, trucks, construction equipment, farm equipment, and even boats; they literally roll-on and roll-off (RO/RO). Almost sounds like “RO RO” your boat! The acronym for “roll-on roll-off” has several variations including used throughout the industry including Ro-Ro, RO/RO, RORO, and RO-RO.

Below are a map and list of the busiest RO/RO seaports in North America. All data is for fiscal year 2021, unless otherwise noted or by annualized average data provided on seaport websites. Numbers are express in vehicle units (vehicles). Peace!

Map of Busiest RO/RO Seaports of North America – Created with mygooglemaps – Updated 12/21/22

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1.Veracruz, Mexico = 825,000 +/- units – more auto exports than imports – key export facility for VW, but also serves Ford, General Motors, BMW, Chrysler, Renault, Volvo, Land Rover, Jaguar, Audi, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Nissan

2. Baltimore, MD, USA = 824,000 +/- units – key facility for BMW, Mercedes-Benz, GM, and Honda

3. Brunswick, GA, USA = 633,000 +/- units – key facility for BMW and Mercedes-Benz, as well as Jaguar, Land Rover, Porsche, Mitsubishi and Volvo

4. Jacksonville, FL, USA = 616,000 +/- units – key facility for Toyota, Mazda, Nissan, VW, Audi, Porsche, GM, Mazda, Honda, Ford, and Stellantis

5. Greater New York City, NY-NJ, USA = 524,000 +/- units – key facility for BMW, Mini, Rolls-Royce, Toyota, Ferrari, FCA, Ford, GM, Maserati, Nissan, Polestar, and Volvo

6. Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexico = 483,000 +/- units (2019)

7. Vancouver, BC, Canada = 400,000 +/- units – key facility for GM, Daewoo, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota. Expanding to 480,000 unit capacity.

8. National City (San Diego), CA, USA = 361,000 +/- units – key facility for Fiat, Honda, Hyundai, Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Porsche, VW, and Toyota Tacoma pick-ups

9. Port of Hueneme (Los Angeles/Oxnard), CA, USA = 321,000 +/- units – key facility for BMW, Mitsubishi, Volvo, Land Rover, Mini, Rolls-Royce, Nissan, Toyota, Maserati, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Acura, Subaru, and Tesla

10. Altamira (Tampico), Mexico = 305,000+/- units (2019) – key facility for GM, Kia, FCA México and Navistar

11. Davisville (Providence), RI = 280,000 +/- units (2018) – key facility for VW/Audi of America, Subaru, Bentley, Porsche, Ford, and Honda

12. Portland, OR, USA = 247,000 +/- units – key facility for Ford and GM exports; imports Hyundai, Honda, and Toyota – when combined with nearby Vancouver, WA the unit total moves up to 316,000 +/-

13. Long Beach (Los Angeles), CA, USA = 200,000 +/- units – key facility for Toyota

14. Autoport – Eastern Passage (Halifax), NS, Canada = 185,000 +/- units

15. Tacoma (Seattle-Tacoma), WA, USA = 162,000+/- units

16. Port of Richmond (San Francisco Bay Area), CA, USA = 150,000 +/- units – key facility for Hyundai and Kia – added 12/17/22

17. Port of Manzanillo (Colon), Panama = 140,000 +/- units – added 12/16/22

18. Tampa Bay, FL, USA = 110,000 +/- units

19. Freeport (Houston), TX, USA = 106,000 – key facility for GM and Ford

20. Los Angeles, CA, USA = 103,000 +/- units

21-22. Charleston, SC, USA and Nanaimo, BC, Canada* = 100,000 +/- units *added 12/20/22 – key facility for Mercedes Benz

23. Tuxpan, Mexico = 97,000 +/- units (2019) – primarily exports vehicles

24. Mazatlan, Mexico = 82,000+/- units (2019)

25. Vancouver (Portland, OR) WA, USA = 72,000 +/- units – key facility for Subaru – see also Portland, OR

26. Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale), FL = 72,000 +/- units – facility for GM, Honda, BMW, VW, and Stellantis, though more boats/yachts RO/RO here than land-based motor vehicles

27. Anchorage, AK, USA = 50,000 +/- units

Autoport near Halifax, Nova Scotia – Source: portofhalifax.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Non-HPA-Facilities-Autoport-1030×322.jpg

OTHER NOTABLE RO/RO PORTS:

Acapulco, Mexico = 32,000 +/- units (2019) – primarily exports

Antioch (San Francisco Bay Area), CA, USA – key facility for VW, Audi, Honda, Toyota, GM, and Tesla

Beaumont, TX, USA

Benicia (San Francisco Bay), CA, USA – key facility for VW, Audi, Porsche, Bentley, Mazda, Toyota, and GM

Galveston (Houston), TX, USA = 32,500 +/- units – key facility for BMW

Honolulu, HI, USA

Manzanillo, Mexico = 21,000 +/- units (2019)

Massport (Boston), MA, USA = 37,000 +/- units

Philadelphia-Camden PA-NJ, USA

Port Canaveral (Melbourne), FL, USA = 12,000 +/- units in 2019 – added 12/16/22

Port of Virginia (Hampton Roads), VA, USA

San Juan, PR, USA

Savannah, GA, USA = 19,000 +/- units – added 12/16/22

Autos exiting a RO/RO ship at the Port of Vancouver, WA – Source: portvanusa.com/marine/roro/

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If the subject of RO/RO ports interests you, here’s a book on the subject available via Amazon.com that may interest you.*

Link – RO-RO HANDBOOK

*A small commission is earned from purchases that are made using the above links to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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