Toyota's Port Newark Expansion Adds 90 New Jobs

Port Authority praises company's environmental concern

NEWARK, N.J., May 31 -- Toyota Logistics Services (TLS) has re-dedicated its Port Newark, N.J. Vehicle Distribution Center after a $20-million dollar expansion. The 83-acre property can process more than 220,000 imported Toyota, Lexus and Scion vehicles a year, before delivery to 371 dealers in 13 states from Maine to Virginia.

The expanded facility now employs 240 associates, up from 150 just four years ago. This diverse workforce represents more than 25 ethnic backgrounds.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which leases the 83-acre site to Toyota, praised the car company for its voluntary environmental initiatives at the Port. Electrically-powered RAV4-EV shuttle vehicles are used for transportation around the facility. All storm water is filtered before it drains into the bay. A strict no-idling policy restricts delivery trucks from idling more than 3 minutes at a time. The facility has achieved a 90 percent recycling rate for trash and materials. Just about the only thing going into landfills from the Toyota operation is biodegradable food waste.

Cars and SUVs unloaded from massive car-carrying ships are inspected at the TLS facility before being shipped by truck or rail to dealers throughout the Northeast. Options and accessories tailored to the U.S. market are also installed -- everything from floor mats and owner's manuals to spoilers, trailer hitches, running boards, custom exhausts, alarms, satellite radios and DVD entertainment systems. The work is done on two platform conveyors and dozens of service bays in the largest of the buildings on site. A paint and body shop can repair any damage that occurs during shipment.

An additional 280,000 U.S.-built Toyota vehicles a year are handled through railheads at other TLS facilities in Port Newark, Annapolis Junction, Md., and Brookfield, Mass.

Toyota sells about 2 million vehicles a year in the U.S. More than 60 percent of them are produced in Toyota's 11 North American vehicle and parts plants, with two more under construction. The remainder are imported through ports in Portland, Ore., Long Beach, Calif., Jacksonville, Fla. and Port Newark.