Georgia ports set yearly tonnage record
♦ The new inland port near Chatsworth saw an increase of three and a half times the cargo.
The Georgia Ports Authority set a tonnage record during the last fiscal year despite the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
For fiscal 2020, which ended last month, the ports of Savannah and Brunswick handled an all-time high 37.77 million tons of cargo, up 233,000 tons — or 0.6% — compared to fiscal 2019.
The record came despite a slight downturn in the number of 20-foot equivalent container units that moved through the Port of Savannah, a decrease driven by the global pandemic that began taking a toll on commercial shipping in March.
“Cargo volume reductions related to COVID-19 were offset by the strength of our
ATLANTA —
A worker unloads a breakbulk vessel at the Georgia Ports Authority’s Ocean Terminal in Savannah in this 2017 photo provided by the ports authority. export markets and record to Savannah’s Ocean Terminal, volumes earlier in the year,” and a new container Griff Lynch, the ports authority’s yard will be completed at executive director, Ocean Terminal by the end said Monday. of the year.
Meanwhile, growth continues Twenty new rubber-tired in and around the gantry cranes are due to arrive Port of Savannah. in Savannah by December,
The first nine of 18 tracks and three new rail-mounted at the $126.7 million Mason gantry cranes are scheduled Mega Rail project are now to go into service by the end moving cargo at the port. of the current fiscal year next When complete, the project summer. will increase Georgia’s reach Just outside of the port, to a mid-american arc of cit5 million square feet of industrial ies, including Chicago, St. space are currently Louis and Columbus, Ohio. under construction. The
Also, two new mobile harbor latest announcement came cranes have been added from Port City Logistics, which is investing $80 million in a 1.1 million squarefoot warehouse.
“What sets Savannah apart from the competition is the sheer capacity of the port’s ever-expanding footprint, on and off the terminal,” said Will Mcknight, the authority’s board chairman. “Not only are we focused on the future and providing even greater value to our customers, but we have nearly unlimited potential and capacity to grow our business.”
On the other side of the state, the Appalachian Regional Port near Chatsworth handled more than three and a half times the cargo in fiscal 2020 as the year before, moving 27,132 containers by rail. The inland rail terminal, which opened nearly two years ago, allows the authority to reduce truck traffic on Georgia’s highways by diverting cargo to rail.
“As more customers learn the value the ARP brings to their operations, the facility continues to gain traction and build momentum,” Lynch said. “We forecast business there to continue growing.”