Port of Savannah sets container throughput record in October

Meanwhile, the Georgia Ports Authority approved $4.27 million in funding for the Savannah Multimodal Connector, a $140 million inland rail facility scheduled for completion in 2020, and $15.5 million to increase auto handling capacity in Brunswick.    The Port of Savannah handled 251,566 loaded TEUs in October 2016, a 2.4 percent increase from the previous year and a record for the month, according to data from the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA).
   In the first four months of its fiscal 2017 year, which began July 1, 2016, laden container volumes grew 4 percent to 1.01 million TEUs compared with the same FY2016 period.
   Total tonnage across all GPA terminals ticked up 0.5 percent to 10.36 million tons compared with the previous fiscal year. Fiscal year-to-date volumes at the Port of Savannah have increased 3.6 percent to 8.9 million tons, but growth has been partially offset by a 17.6 percent year-over-year drop in empty containers to 252,307 TEUs.
   GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch noted that record box traffic was achieved despite challenges due to Hurricane Matthew and the bankruptcy of South Korean ocean carrier Hanjin Shipping.
   “These results are a testament to GPA’s strength in the marketplace, and the need to continue expanding capacity on GPA terminals,” he said.
   Meanwhile, the board of directors of the GPA approved $4.27 million in funding for the Savannah Multimodal Connector, a $140 million inland rail facility scheduled for completion in 2020, and $15.5 million to increase auto handling capacity at the nearby Port of Brunswick.
   Once complete, the Savannah Multimodal Connector will double annual rail lift capacity at the port to 1 million containers, which will allow the Garden City Terminal to handle additional 10,000-foot long unit trains and reduce impact on nearby communities, according to GPA.
   The authority said the multimodal connector will play a key role in GPA’s Mid-American Arc initiative, an effort to expand rail service from the Garden City Terminal to and from an arc of cities ranging from Memphis, to St. Louis, Chicago and the Ohio Valley.
   “This action today by our board gives a green light to GPA’s Mid-American Arc,” GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood said of the funding approval. “Improved unit train capacity will build density into the system, and make routes between the Midwest and the hub port of Savannah more attractive to our rail providers.”
   The $15.5 million tabbed for improvements at the Port of Brunswick, the second busiest auto gateway in the United States, will go to three projects to develop an additional 85 acres of vehicle processing space at the Colonel’s Island Terminal.
   “These moves position the authority to grow with existing port users, and to provide turnkey operations for potential customers,” added Lynch.