Nissan navigates tariffs at Brunswick's Colonel’s Island Terminal
After it was announced that US tariffs caused a dip in vehicle handling growth at the Port of Brunswick in Georgia in 2025, Nissan has shared how tariffs impacted its activity at the port, having taken advantage of three new vehicle processing buildings that opened in 2024.
Colonels Island Terminal at the Port of Brunswick is the largest automotive port in the US and the busiest US gateway for ro-ro cargo
Georgia Ports
As part of the big investment at Colonel’s Island Terminal in 2024 Wallenius Wilhelmsen added three new buildings to support vehicle processing for Nissan North America. Nissan was already one of the top five vehicle makers by volume based there.
The three new buildings, managed by Wallenius Wilhelmsen, are processing Nissan and Infiniti brand vehicles.
Through CY2025 the Brunswick vehicle processing centre (VPC) managed approximately 31,440 Nissan units, providing PDI services. On top of that, 27,703 Nissan units were imported from Mexico already accessorised (and therefore not technically processed at the Brunswick facility). It means the total number of Nissan vehicles moving through Colonel’s Island Terminal in 2025 was above 59,000.
In terms of hinterland modes to and from the port, truck accounted for 100% of vehicle deliveries to the port of Brunswick through CY2025 as well as the majority of vehicles leaving Brunswick into the US (97%).
Figure 1: Nissan vehicle units processed through Brunswick port in CY2025
| Category |
Units |
| Imports (Japan only) |
21,125 (67%) |
| Exports (Middle East) |
10,315 (33%) |
Figure 2: Nissan vehicle units processed through Brunswick port in Q1 2026
| Category |
Units |
| Imports (Japan only) |
6,699 (85%) |
| Exports (Middle East) |
1,232 (15%) |
Clarity on imports
Georgia Ports Authority has reported that during summer 2025 certain vehicle makers paused shipments destined for Brunswick port from factories in Mexico, Europe and Asia in the face of US tariffs on vehicle imports. Nissan reports that while import volumes from both Japan and Mexico were reduced because of tariffs, it continued to utilise Brunswick port on a consistent basis for Asia imports, and only briefly paused Mexico imports into Brunswick for the month of April.
A spokesperson for Nissan said that balancing out the flows in 2025 was based on transparent communication with Wallenius Wilhelmsen regarding strategic vehicle production decisions and subsequent changes to import volumes from Asia and Mexico.
