Cars await shipment to U.S. dealers after arriving at Quonset Point. Photo by Steve Klamkin WPRO News
By Steve Klamkin WPRO News
More cars than ever before, 172,000 were imported at Quonset Point in 2012, up 14% from the year before.
Governor Lincoln Chafee announced the record-breaking figures Wednesday at the Quonset Business Park, saying the 2012 numbers were an improvement on the prior year, when the port was the 7th largest importer of autos in the country.
"Quonset's one of our great assets here in Rhode Island," Chafee told an audience from the group Leadership Rhode Island, who were receiving a briefing on the port's operations.
"With the port, and the rail line all here, a new road coming in. We've invested in the infrastructure and now it's growing, we've got good news to report," Chafee said.
Cars are imported by North Atlantic Distribution, Inc., known by its shorthand NORAD.
“For more than 25 years we have seen tremendous growth at the Port of Davisville and we are thrilled to call it our home,” said Michael Miranda, president and CEO of NORAD in a statement.
“The state and our federal leaders have done an incredible job in positioning the Port for more business, and we intend to capitalize on those efforts in the months and years ahead.”
“Today’s success at Quonset-Davisville is the result of decades of hard work," said U.S. Senator Jack Reed, who secured over $55 million in federal funding to expand freight rail at the Port of Davisville.
"The federal investments we made here are really paying dividends. We’ve got to continue building on this progress and modernize our critical infrastructure assets to accelerate and sustain economic growth,” Reed said in a statement.
