The Port of Savannah handled 529,523 TEUs in August, essentially flat from a year earlier, as weather disruptions in Asia and Panama constrained supply-chain activity despite continued customer demand.
Savannah’s August volume was down less than 1% year over year. Loaded exports rose 4.2%, or nearly 4,700 twenty foot equivalent units (TEUs), to 117,242 TEUs, while loaded imports increased 1.5%, or about 3,800 TEUs, to 265,859 TEUs.
“Asia weather and Panama Canal water levels are being felt in August supply chains. For September, we are seeing strong numbers on the water and the Suez Canal seems to be picking up,” Georgia Ports Authority Chief Executive Griff Lynch said. “The customer demand is present for Savannah, however typhoons in Asia and El Niño in Panama are affecting volumes.”
Georgia Ports Authority facilities moved 1.03 million TEUs during July and August, the first two months of its fiscal year. That total was up 22,537 TEUs, or 2.2%, from the corresponding period a year earlier.
“We’re off to a strong start, with more than a million TEUs moving through Georgia’s ports in the first two months of the fiscal year,” GPA President Kevin Price said. “At the same time, we’re improving truck efficiency.”
Garden City Terminal recorded average truck turn times of 43 minutes for dual import-export transactions in August, 6.5 minutes below the terminal’s previous six-month average. Nearly 80% of Savannah truck transactions are dual moves, and the terminal processes about 15,000 truck gate transactions each weekday between 4 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Inland port rail volumes reach record
The Appalachian Regional Port posted record August volume, up 10% from August 2025. For the first two months of GPA’s fiscal year, the inland rail facility’s volume was more than 25% above the same period a year earlier.
At the Port of Brunswick, heavy machinery volume reached 4,726 units in August, rising 3,884 units, or nearly 22%, from the prior-year month.
Total automobile and heavy-machinery volume at Brunswick was 60,572 units, down 3,348 units, or 5%, year over year. GPA attributed the lower overall total in part to luxury vehicle manufacturers facing stronger competition from Chinese domestic producers, which has reduced U.S. vehicle exports to China.
Meanwhile, construction of a fourth berth at Brunswick’s Colonel’s Island terminal is halfway complete. The $100 million project is scheduled for completion in November 2027 and will allow the port to handle vessels carrying more than 7,000 vehicles.
Why it matters: Savannah is an important East and Gulf Coast container hub, so its throughput is a useful indicator of import demand, retailer replenishment, manufacturing supply chains, and exporters’ access to overseas markets.
Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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