GPA bulks up tonnage for 3rd month

GPA bulks up tonnage for 3rd month       The Georgia Ports Authority said it has recorded its third consecutive month of cargo volume increases, as February's overall tonnage grew 29.7 percent.
      'Superior services, logistics and facilities allow the GPA to grow its market and further establish Georgia's ports as a strategic gateway in the South Atlantic,' said Curtis J. Foltz, the port authority's executive director, in a statement.

Foltz

      The February tonnage increase brings the port authority's volume for the first eight months to a 2.7 percent increase compared with the same period last year.
      February container volume showed strong growth to 202,620 TEUs, up
20.6 percent February 2009.
      The movement of auto and machinery units on Colonel's Island Terminal in Brunswick experienced year-over-year increases for the past three months of 46.7 percent in December 2009, 2.7 percent in January and 15.7 percent in February. For fiscal year-to-day, volume is down 6.8 percent. Volkswagen recently renewed its commitment to the Port of Brunswick by signing a five-year contract with International Auto Processing, effective May 1.
      At Brunswick, agri-bulk commodities posted record volumes for the fourth straight month with 207,502 tons moved in February, which was a
248 percent increase compared to the same month last year, GPA said.   
Specifically, agri-bulk volumes at Colonel's Island Terminal doubled for the fiscal year to date.
      Maintenance dredging in Brunswick was also completed, which brought the Port of Brunswick's entrance channel back to its authorized depth and width. The entrance channel is authorized at 38 feet and a 500-foot width. The inner harbor is authorized at a depth of 36 feet and width of 400 feet.
      A combination of fiscal year 2009 stimulus funds through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act were used with fiscal year 2010 operations and maintenance funds, which were required for the $10 million dredging project, the GPA said.