Posted on July 30, 2025
Key Points
- The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) achieved its second-busiest fiscal year for container traffic despite trade war uncertainties.
- Growth at the Port of Savannah was 8.6%, driven by record months earlier in the year as companies frontloaded cargo in anticipation of tariffs.
The global market for shipping has not been a sea of smooth sailing this year. It has been more akin to a volatile voyage with rough waves and periods of calm with the U.S. in the throes of a tariff war with numerous trade partners.
But in the midst of new import tax levies and moving deadlines for trade war “truces,” the Georgia Ports Authority logged its second busiest fiscal year for container traffic on record. Growth at the Port of Savannah came at an 8.6% clip in fiscal year 2025, anchored by record months in February, March and April as shipping companies frontloaded cargo ahead of anticipated tariffs.
Fiscal year 2025 is second only to FY2022, a year when the COVID-19 pandemic propelled a boom in the shipping industry. FY 2025’s fiscal year growth rate out of the Port of Savannah effectively doubled the combined growth of other Southeastern ports in Charleston, S.C., Jacksonville, Fla. and Norfolk, Va., according to GPA.
“This is a unique story. This is a Savannah story, and we’re very proud of that fact,” said GPA CEO and President Griff Lynch.
May volume: Port of Savannah continues to weather volatile tariff landscape, logs second-busiest May
Still, GPA has not gone through these volatile trade times unblemished. It turned the fiscal year corner in December with break-neck 12.5% growth, higher than the 8.6% it finished with. There was also a 9.6% drop from last year in June container volumes after cargo moderated from the Spring’s front loading.
Tariff impacts have been felt the most so far with auto imports, which are down 16% for the fiscal year. Lynch said some automakers paused shipments during initial tariff announcements in early spring, something “there was no coming back from.”
But the Port of Brunswick, home to GPA’s roll-on/roll-off operations for autos and heavy machinery, finished on par with its record-breaking fiscal year 2024. Brunswick’s port moved 870,775 units of autos and heavy equipment in fiscal year 2025, and the drop in auto volumes were offset by a record-year for heavy machinery, Lynch said.
“The autos for sure were impacted by the tariffs and the imports … Even with the auto numbers where we’re at, it’s still very strong, just not our best (year) ever,” Lynch said.
Outlook for future port volumes
When it comes to tariffs, the key is predictability. Port customers are most concerned about the “unknown” and are looking for rates and dates they can plan around, Lynch said.
Trade with the EU is slated to stabilize with the just-announced trade agreement that set tariffs on EU goods at 15%, according to the New York Times. Lynch said about 12% of GPA’s trade is with the EU. Meanwhile China, a major trade partner for GPA, is still under a trade war truce until an Aug. 12 deadline.
The temporary truce implemented in mid-May dropped 145% levies on Chinese goods to 30%. Lynch expressed hope that the truce would be extended, saying it is “just a matter of timing.”
“I hope within the next shift of dates that a China (trade deal) will get done,” Lynch said. “Obviously, a large majority of our cargo comes from China and as China goes, so will we go.”
Brunswick growth: Port of Brunswick to add fourth ship berth, charts path to continued growth
But in the meantime, GPA is still charting its course.
Board Chairman Alec Poitevint, who was elected chair at GPA’s May meeting, said his focus as chair will remain on the long-term strategy of the ports. And GPA is still in growth mode.
In addition to its busy year of container cargo, the GPA board also approved $472 million in new projects during fiscal year 2025. Those projects include rail expansion that will double capacity at Colonels Island in Brunswick, an initiative now finished and opening in a few weeks.
Also included in the tranche of new projects is a fourth roll-on/roll-off ship berth in Brunswick and further redevelopment at Ocean Terminal in Savannah. The Ocean Terminal project will add 1.5 million TEU capacity to the Port of Savannah, according to GPA estimates. A third container terminal in Savannah is also planned for Hutchinson Island.
“You look at our plans, and you know that our plan doesn’t stop. There is no end date to what we are doing here,” Poitevint said.
GPA leaders also see growth opportunity in the exports market, an area where increased rail investments could pay off. Poitevint added that exports are one area GPA is “poised to take advantage of.”
Currently Georgia’s ports are import heavy, at about a 70-30 ratio, Lynch said. That ratio could move more towards the 60-40 or 55-45 range in coming years, he added.
Investments in both service and capacity are aimed at drawing more customers to call on Savannah, Lynch said.
“In a tough market, how can we steer people our way?”
