Savannah volumes up sharply

Savannah volumes up sharply

Foltz

   The Georgia Ports Authority had its fourth consecutive month of double-digit growth in March, said Curtis J. Foltz, the port’s executive director.
   Overall tonnage for March showed gains of 24.9 percent, which brings the port authority's fiscal year-to-date (July 2009 through March 2010) volume to a 4.9-percent increase compared with the same time period last year.
   The agency, which operates the Port of Savannah, said container volume increased 32.5 percent to 227,860 TEUs in March, compared to the same period last year.
   Foltz said containerized imports increased 45.3 percent to 112,233 TEUs in March. While commodity statistics are not available yet for March, there have been substantial increases for retailers of general merchandise, home improvement, electronics and appliances. Furniture saw moderate improvement. Exports remained strong as well, increasing 22 percent to 115,628 TEUs.
   At the Port of Brunswick, movement of auto and machinery units has also experienced growth for the past four months. Colonel's Island Terminal moved 31,417 units in March, a 54.8-percent increase compared with March 2009.