Port of Savannah handles record container volumes in October

The Georgia port recorded a 32 percent increase in container trade in October, with a total of 410,000 TEUs moved through the Garden City Terminal, Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) announced Monday.    Port of Savannah saw container trade grow by 32 percent in October, with Garden City Terminal moving 410,000 TEUs, the highest total ever for a single month, Georgia Port Authority (GPA) announced Monday.
   For the fiscal year period starting July 1 and ending Oct. 31, the Port of Savannah moved 1.42 million TEUs, a 12.3 percent increase from the same period a year ago, GPA said.
   “Since the opening of the expanded Panama Canal, Garden City Terminal has experienced meteoric growth,” said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. “We’re now handling more ships, bigger vessels and larger cargo exchanges. By working more weekly vessel calls than any other East Coast port, and serving more neopanamax ships than any other port in the U.S. Southeast, Savannah has strengthened its position as a vital gateway to the global marketplace.
   “With deeper water, today’s 14,000-TEU ships will be able to transit the Savannah River with greater scheduling flexibility, and take on heavier export loads,” he added. “Because these larger vessels provide lower cost per container slot, they help make American farms and factories more competitive.”
   Currently GPA has $266 million in state funds and $127.8 million in federal funds earmarked for the harbor deepening project. However, “the current proposal will not cover all the work that could be completed in a year,” said GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood. “We are working with our leaders in Washington in hopes that they will provide additional funds through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ work plan.”
   Allgood, along with Army Corps of Engineers economic impact studies, says that ports with greater access to neo-Panamax vessels yield more benefits for the nation’s economy via cost savings on transportation.
   According to the Army Corps of Engineers’ Port of Savannah harbor deepening study, the deepening will return $7.30 for every dollar spent on construction. The Corps estimates the net benefit of transportation savings for shippers and consumers to be $282 million per year with the expected total savings for the nation to be $14.1 billion over the course of 50 years.