By JACK MORSE

The Brunswick News

When Mack Mattingly returned from the Georgia Ports Authority's board meeting in Savannah on Monday, he brought with him some good news.

Colonel's Island — and Mayor's Point Terminal, to boot — had shown a growth in business.

"They were commenting today in the meeting that the figures for January show an increase out there at Mayor's Point," said Mattingly, a former U.S. senator who now sits on the board of directors for the Ports Authority.

The figures are especially encouraging, he said, considering that Mayor's Point was "in a funk there for a while."

The facility's breakbulk business, which is comprised of paper and paper products, was up 18.7 percent in January 2005 versus the same month in 2004.

Auto and machinery units handled by Colonel's Island were also up 16.4 percent last month as opposed to January 2004.

Robert Morris, director of external affairs for the Ports Authority, said recent success at Colonel's Island can largely be traced to the consolidation between automobile manufacturers Hyundai and Kia. The first automobiles as a result of that unification started coming to the area early in 2004, and their numbers have continued to increase.

At Mayor's Point, much of the credit goes to UPM, a forest products company, that late last year decided to start shipping magazine paper through the port.

"That really helped shore up our business there," Morris said.

Back at Colonel's Island, there is more good news.

"This month we did a bang-up business moving our bulk from Colonel's Island," Morris said, referring to agribulk, which involves products such as corn, grain, soybeans and wheat. January saw a 79.3 percent increase in agribulk versus the same month a year ago.

"So we're on target for a very strong year for agribulk, as well," Morris said. "That's really rewarding — to know that our agribulk facility here at Colonel's Island continues to be a great resource for the agricultural community, not just in Georgia, but throughout the Southeast and up into the Midwest."

Success in that arena may be attributed to the fact that the local agribulk facility is one of the few on the East Coast.

Mattingly said he expects such growth to continue into the future. And even when the economy weakens, he said, area ports should hold their own.

"The pendulum always swings back and forth, and right now, it's on the upswing," he said. "So long as we remain competitive, though, even when there is a downturn in the economy in the future, the ports of Brunswick and Savannah, being more competitive than other ports, will maintain an edge."

Morris foresees a good bit of future growth based on an ongoing harbor deepening project. At the current depth of 30 feet, only about half of the bulk vessels on the oceans today can access the harbor, he said. By completing the addition of six more feet, that number should increase to about 80 percent of the vessels.

"I can't overstate the importance of the deepening to all our business lines, including breakbulk at Mayor's Point," Morris said. "I've heard from many customers, locally and internationally, as to how pleased they are with the progress of the deepening project and how much new business they can bring in once it's finished."