Posted on October 30, 2024
The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) handled 450,700 TEUs in September, its second busiest month on record, a 12 per cent increase over the same month last year.
In Savannah, import cargoes totalled 234,630 TEUs in September, an increase of 17 per cent, or about 34,735 TEUs. Export cargoes fell 8.8 per cent, or 9,800 TEUs, to 101,730 from the same month the previous year.
GPA President and CEO, Griff Lynch, said: “In September, we saw front-loading of containers as customers worked to ensure cargo availability ahead of the holiday shopping season. With another 375,000 TEUs currently on the water, we’re expecting continued strength in October.”
Lynch remarked that the construction of Garden City Terminal West in 2024 will provide port clients with long-term storage alternatives for import and export goods.
“This 100-acre facility allows cargo owners to set the pace of their supply chains in support of manufacturing or retail,” he said.
The September result increases the Port of Savannah’s overall fiscal year container volumes to more than 1.4 million TEUs, up 13 per cent from the first quarter of FY2025 (which began 1 July).
GPA’s only September with bigger volumes was in 2021 when more than 472,000 TEUs docked at the Port of Savannah.
Lynch stated that the truck drivers who serve the ports are critical to GPA’s performance.
On 19 September, GPA commemorated National Truck Driver Appreciation Week by distributing safety gloves, bottled water, and chicken sandwiches at terminal gates.
In September, the inland terminal at Appalachian Regional Port handled 3,000 containers, representing an 11 per cent increase of 300 boxes.
The ARP had a record quarter, transporting more than 10,000 containers between July and September.
The Port of Savannah’s Mason Mega Rail Terminal, North America’s largest on-port rail facility, helps facilitate the growth of inland rail yards.
Mason Mega Rail set a one-day record of 2,169 containers transported on 4 October. Compared to an all-truck load, each round-trip container carried using the ARP saves 710 truck miles on state roads.
Lynch said that the Blue Ridge Connector in Gainesville is currently 23 per cent complete. Dirt work, as well as utility and storm drain installation, are now underway. The inland port is set to open in 2026.
GPA Board Chairman, Kent Fountain, stated: “We’re focused on the long-term performance of the company and the necessary port and inland infrastructure investment to serve the State of Georgia and the Southeast region efficiently. Our gateway port model and inland product are performing well.”
In September, the Port of Brunswick’s Colonel’s Island Terminal handled 78,430 vehicles and heavy equipment, a 10 per cent increase over September 2023.
