Savannah, Norfolk ports set fiscal year TEU records

Georgia Ports Authority said TEU volumes in Savannah have climbed almost 17 percent in the past 12 months.    Major mid-Atlantic and Southeast ports enjoyed robust growth in fiscal years that ended June 30, largely due to the decision of shippers to shift a portion of their import traffic from more congested West Coast ports.
   Container volumes at the Port of Savannah popped 16.5 percent in fiscal year 2015 to 3.66 million TEUs, topping last year’s record of 3.14 million TEUs, the Georgia Ports Authority reported Monday.
   Despite the surge in business, Savannah’s Garden City Terminal has remained relatively fluid due to the infrastructure capacity and its ability to turn trucks quickly.
   The Port of Savannah also moved more containers by rail than any fiscal year so far. The terminal lifted 369,347 containers on and off intermodal rail cars, up 10.9 percent from the previous record of 332,966 containers set in fiscal year 2014.
   The nation’s fourth largest container port is also on track to smash its calendar year record of 3.35 million TEUs set in 2014. More than 1.9 million standard shipping units moved through Savannah in the first half of the year. In June, volume spiked 23.2 percent to 330,420 TEUs compared to June of 2014.
   Meanwhile, the Port of Virginia handled more than 2.5 million TEUs in fiscal 2015, besting the record it set in FY2014 by 8.9 percent. The port closed the fiscal year with a 14.5 percent increase in volume to 213,517 TEUs in June versus the same month last year. The number of boxes that moved through the port in June by truck was up 20 percent, while rail moves increased 7.4 percent.
   The Virginia Port Authority also posted its first yearly operating profit since 2008, Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced last week. The port is forecast to turn a profit of $16.1 million, according to preliminary calculations. The profit represents a $31.5 million gain in operating income compared to the prior fiscal year. 
   CEO John Reinhart took over in February 2014 and one of the missions given to him by state officials was to return the port to profitability.
   “We’re seeing gains from our ongoing effort to improve operational efficiency, and our strategic investments in equipment, in technology and in people are paying off. There is still much to do, and we are going to forge ahead with our plan to reinvest in infrastructure in order to compete now and in the future,” Reinhart said in a statement.
   Earlier this month, the South Carolina Ports Authority said it too set a record for fiscal year 2015 with 1.9 million TEUs handled at its terminals, an increase of 14 percent from the prior year.
   The Georgia Ports Authority said it also set records for total tonnage and roll-on/roll-off cargo at Savannah and the Port of Brunswick. Total tonnage reached 31.69 million tons, up 7.8 percent, or 2.29 million tons from the prior fiscal year. Of that amount, containerized cargo accounted for 25.89 million tons, also up 7.8 percent.
   Bulk cargo at Georgia ports grew 8.1 percent to 2.95 million tons and breakbulk cargo was up 7.6 percent to 2.83 million tons.
   Brunswick and Savannah moved a combined 714,021 vehicles and machinery, an improvement of 1.9 percent. Brunswick handled the bulk of the roll-on/roll-off cargo, with 680,427 units.