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Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro<\/a> on Tuesday announced the state will invest $371 million in the Port of Philadelphia<\/a>, a commitment he said will help create thousands of jobs and boost the port\u2019s capacity to handle container cargo and automobiles.<\/p>\n Shapiro said the state funding will \u201cunlock\u201d at least $200 million in private investment and $266 million in federal grants as part of what he called the largest expansion in the port\u2019s history.<\/p>\n That expansion will nearly double the number of jobs at the port from 8,000 to 14,000, the governor said. <\/p>\n \u201cThese are family-sustaining jobs. These are jobs that allow people to have pride in their work and put food on the table,\u201d Shapiro said at the Southport Auto Terminal along the Delaware River at the Navy Yard, where he was joined by Mayor Cherelle L. Parker<\/a>, maritime industry executives, and leaders from the Teamsters and longshoremen\u2019s unions. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s thousands of highly paid union jobs here,\u201d said Shapiro, a Democrat who is seeking a second term in next month\u2019s midterm elections. He\u2019s running against Republican State Treasurer Stacy Garrity<\/a>.<\/p>\n The private investments include $100 million from Holt Logistics Corp. The Shapiro administration did not provide additional details about the private investments secured.<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Gov. Josh Shapiro lured companies like Chobani and Burlington with state incentives. Will it pay off for Pa.?<\/a><\/p>\n The Port of Philadelphia is a relatively small player compared to other U.S. container ports. Philadelphia handled 889,000 container units<\/a> last year, or about 10% of the 8.9 million units<\/a> that passed through the Port of New York and New Jersey, the top East Coast port. <\/p>\n But Philly\u2019s port has been growing over the past decade amid the deepening of the Delaware River<\/a>; the 2016 expansion of the Panama Canal in Central America, which has allowed bigger ships to carry more cargo through the waterway; and increased public and private investment<\/a>. <\/p>\n Philly is a major gateway for refrigerated cargo such as produce \u2014 it imports more fresh fruit<\/a> than any other U.S. port, mostly from Central and South America.<\/p>\n The new investments will help build a new berth at Southport \u2014 a 155-acre auto processing center on the former Navy base where imported Hyundais and Kias are stored before heading to dealer showrooms. The berth will create more space for ships to dock at the port, officials said.<\/p>\n Imported Hyundais and Kias fill the Glovis America lot at the Southport Auto Terminal on the eastern edge of the Philadelphia Navy Yard Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. The Walt Whitman Bridge and Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in South Philadelphia are in rear.Read more<\/a>Tom Gralish \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n Shapiro said the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority \u2014 a state agency known as PhilaPort that owns seaport facilities along the Delaware \u2014 will also use the new funding to develop container- and auto-handling facilities at the Mustin freight yard adjacent to Southport. <\/p>\n