Port of Savannah cargo growth continues in January

The South Atlantic port handled 338,793 TEUs of containerized cargo for the month, a 2.2 percent increase from the same 2017 period, according to the latest data from the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA).    The Port of Savannah handled 338,793 TEUs of containerized cargo in January 2018, a 2.2 percent increase from the same month a year ago, according to the latest data from the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA).
   The South Atlantic port saw import cargo jump 5.9 percent to 178,249 TEUs – 169,758 laden TEUs and 8,491 empty TEUs – for the month.
   Export cargo, on the other hand, slipped 1.6 percent year-over-year to 160,544 TEUs – 107,499 full TEUs and 53,045 empty TEUs.
   The January figures follow on a strong 2017 calendar year in which the Port of Savannah handled more than 4 million TEUs, the most ever in a 12-month period at the port and an increase of 11 percent from 2016, while total trade for 2017 grew 12 percent to 35 million tons.
   Earlier this month, GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch outlined plans to double container handling capacity at Savannah’s Garden City Terminal to 10 million TEUs within 10 years. 
   GPA’s 2028 Plan includes ordering 42 ship-to-shore cranes, 200 yard cranes, creating new rubber-tired gantry (RTG) lanes and a significant expansion of intermodal infrastructure at Savannah.
   The first half of the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project, which includes dredging the port’s outer harbor, is scheduled to be completed in March. Deepening the inner harbor is expected to be finished by late 2021, allowing neo-Panamax vessels to enter the port with more cargo on board and with fewer tidal restrictions.
   At the nearby Port of Brunswick, also operated by GPA, the port authority is expanding to an annual handling capacity of 1.4 million vehicles. According to officials, GPA has spent $25 million to increase roll-on/roll-off space at Brunswick in the past year and plans to spend another $20 million in the next 18 months in an effort to attract additional automobile business to Georgia.
   “Georgia is home to both the single largest container and roll-on/roll-off facilities in North America,” Lynch told attendees at the Georgia Foreign Trade Conference in early February. “Our goal is to maximize capacity, create jobs and reduce impact on our local communities.”
   “We have come to an exciting turning point,” added GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood. “Georgia’s business-friendly environment, led by Gov. Nathan Deal, coupled with statewide infrastructure investments, have set the stage for new business, new jobs and additional trade through the ports of Savannah and Brunswick.”