Japanese auto maker Subaru has extended the lease on its Port of Vancouver USA auto facility until at least 2030.

The port’s Board of Commissioners recently approved the lease extension which would have expired August 31, 2020. The new agreement has Subaru maintaining its import/export operation at the port until August 2030 with two five-year options that could extend the contract to 2040.

Revenue to the port generated over the remainder of the lease is expected to exceed $7 million, according to a statement from the port’s Harbor Commission.

Subaru leases approximately 40 acres from the Port of Vancouver USA. The company has imported, processed and transported vehicles at the port since 1992. Last year, Subaru processed 81,718 vehicles at Vancouver USA, an 18 percent increase over 2013.

BNSF RAILWAY MOVES 60 PERCENT OF SUBARU VEHICLE IMPORTS THROUGH VANCOUVER USA

Port of Vancouver USA, situated on the Columbia River in southern Washington state, is one of Subaru’s three U.S. ports of entry in the U.S.. Subaru of America utilizes the port’s Terminal 4 roll-on/roll-off auto dock, leased auto-processing facility, and cargo-staging area to both import and export its vehicles.

Auto Warehousing Company (AWC) serves as Subaru’s auto processor with more than 150 Subaru and AWC employees working at the port. Currently, the employees are installing a variety of accessories as well as performing high-quality control checks to prepare the vehicles for transport by truck or rail to Subaru dealerships throughout the Western U.S.

Currently, about 60 percent of Subaru vehicles processed at the port are loaded onto rail cars provided and serviced by BNSF Railway. The remainder is transported by United Road Services, another port tenant, which transports the vehicles by truck to dealers in the Pacific Northwest.

“I was here, working at the port, when the first Subaru rolled off the ship,” says Vancouver USA Commission President Nancy Baker. “It’s grown so much, and we celebrated our one-millionth car last summer. I think we’re doing a very good job putting (Subaru’s leasehold) to work and bringing benefit to this community.”