57,000 cars sitting in Port of Baltimore-bought 14.6 acres in February to store them

[underpants]

The Port of Baltimore has snapped up 14.6 acres of adjacent land for $5.25m in an acquisition designed to relieve pressure on the port's terminals.
http://www.portstrategy.com/archive101/2009/march/news_americas/baltimore_buys_space
13 Feb 2009
In conversation with Port Strategy, the port authority said that there are currently 57,000 cars awaiting delivery.




Unsold Cars Piling Up at Port of Baltimore
posted 02/10/09 6:09 pm
http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0209/593537.html

[liberal N proud]

1. Make me an offer I can't refuse

I would love to buy a new car but in this economic climate, I am afraid to buy the gasoline to put in my car for fear I need the cash for another more important thing. Like eating.

[underpants]

3. Well we have choices

would you like a white one or a dark tan one?

[islandmkl]

4. hey...there's a yellow jeep in the upper left center...

these all look like chrysler products...

[underpants]

5. says here that they are Dodges. If that matters

http://andreainspired.tumblr.com/post/87661153/dodge-suvs-sit-parked-in-the-atlantic-marine

[liberal N proud]

11. They must have been fleet vehicles and shipment was stopped

There are some Jeeps in there as well.

[Liberal_in_LA]

10. I hear ya. Everyone's feeling that way

[The2ndWheel]

2. And actual conservation would be them never being delivered

Alright, never being made in the first place, but since that toothpaste is out of the tube already...

[MichellesBFF]

6. Why are AMERICAN cars sitting in a port?

Did they come from another country? Shouldn't they have been made here?

[shadowknows69]

9. Hi, welcome to America

We don't make anything anymore.

Edit to add: Strike that, our hamburgers are top notch at every McDonald's around the country. Even though the beef probably comes from the South American (former) rainforest.

[Soylent Brice]

12. i want to laugh at that, but cannot.

damn.

[underpants]

13. That is just how a lot of cars are moved. You can't have THAT many trailers on the road

At the port of Baltimore, more than 57,000 unsold domestic and imported cars sit on land near the docks. And state officials recently bought about 15 acres off Broening Highway as they seek more space to store the backlog of cargo.

In normal times, cars that Mercedes, Kia, Subaru, Hyundai, Volvo and others ship to Baltimore might sit in terminals for a week or so before being sent by truck or rail to dealers who would sell them to waiting customers. But these days, those vehicles - along with domestic cars such as those made by Chrysler and Ford - are parked for two weeks or more as consumer demand wanes in the face of the weakened economy.

"The foreign producers have ... shipped too many cars, more than they can sell or store on the dealers' lots, and they're backing up in the ports," said Paul Bingham, managing director of global trade and transportation practice at IHS Global Insight. "The dealers don't want them. They've got more than they can handle on their lots."

Auto exports and imports fell by an estimated 15 percent last year at Baltimore's port, officials said. The port handled about 600,000 exports and imports through public and private terminals in 2007, and about 510,000 autos last year, according to preliminary estimates for the year.

At the port of Tacoma, in Washington, "we are seeing what other ports are seeing," said spokeswoman Tara Mattina.

The port, which imports five lines of automobiles, including Mazdas, Kias and Mitsubishis, began to see a backlog of vehicles in late November.

About 40,000 autos are now parked there, up from the typical 24,000 to 27,000 vehicles, with automakers leasing extra space from the port, she said.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.port10feb10,0,624296.story

[annabanana]

7. "Everything must Go. . Make an Offer"

My two sons could each spend a couple hundred for a car. . .

[TexasObserver]

8. Maybe. Or maybe someone needed to sell it for $5 mil really bad.

I read the article, and a group called Chesapeake Commerce Centre owns the development where the land was located. Port Authorities are considered financial fiefdoms for the local power brokers who usually control them.

I'd wager the seller needed to make that deal worse than the Port Authority needed to buy it.

[underpants]

14. Duke Realty Corporation

That is one reason that the state paid $5.25 million last month for 14.6 acres in Chesapeake Commerce Center, an industrial park near the port. The land, purchased from developer Duke Realty Corp., probably will be used to store the imported cars backing up at the port, White said.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.port10feb10,0,624296.story

Duke Realty Corporation
http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/economy-business-finance/duke-realty-corporation-ORCRP004754.topic


http://www.dukerealty.com/

[TexasObserver]

15. Notice how the language is much less certain about usage and urgency.

From article in your link:

That is one reason that the state paid $5.25 million last month for 14.6 acres in Chesapeake Commerce Center, an industrial park near the port. The land, purchased from developer Duke Realty Corp., probably will be used to store the imported cars backing up at the port, White said.

While a final decision has not been made, storing autos on the recently purchased land should free space in the terminals and enable the port to accept other cargo, thus increasing business and jobs, White said. Port officials typically charge the auto companies to store the cars on the land near the docks.

"The intent of the property was to use it for overflow cargoes or for other port needs, with the idea of it being flexible," White said.

[ConcernedCanuk]

16. Location, location location - heck, I could buy (if I had the money) 90 acres for 40 grand up here

.
.
.

7 acres for 20G

2.5 acres with garage and septic for 15g

and so on

$360,000 an acre - wow

and then imagine the taxes on that

whew!

and not a tree in sight - -

(sigh)