PORT OF SAVANNAH TOPS 1 MILLION TEUS

PORT OF SAVANNAH TOPS 1 MILLION TEUS    The Port of Savannah has surpassed 1 million TEUs in the eighth month of its current fiscal year, the Georgia Ports Authority reported Monday.
   Through February, the port has handled 1.004 million TEUs, a 33.7-percent increase, or 253,178 more TEUs than the year-earlier period. In February, the port handle4d 116,655 TEUs, up 27.7 percent over February 2002.
   In the process, Savannah surpassed the port of Charleston, S.C. as the fourth-busiest U.S. port, according to statistics from PIERS Trade Information Services. Savannah topped its neighboring port for the months of January and February, PIERS reported.
   Doug Marchand, executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority, credited the container growth on several factors, including improved intermodal freight handling through its new intermodal container transfer facility, five new ocean carrier services added during the fiscal year, and Savannah's expanded base of 12 major regional distribution centers.
   'For fiscal year 2003, we are well on our way to handling close to 1.5 million TEUs,' Marchand said.