Georgia Ports Authority posts rail cargo record
The Port of Savannah set a record for rail traffic last month at the port’s Mason Mega Rail Terminal, the Georgia Ports Authority announced this month.
The rail terminal handled 46,890 containers in February, an increase of 39% compared to the same month last year.
The ports authority’s Appalachian Regional Port in Northwest Georgia also set a February record, moving 3,825 containers, up 23% over February of 2023.
Altogether, rail accounted for 19% of the ports authority’s container trade last month, with the remainder moving by truck.
“GPA has made significant investments in rail infrastructure,” said Griff Lynch, the ports authority’s executive director. “That’s going to play a key role in capturing our next growth target — a greater share of the market in locations such as Dallas, Memphis, and beyond.”
Meanwhile, overall traffic in containerized cargo at Savannah was up 14.4% in February compared to the same month last year.
Lynch welcomed two consecutive months of growth after a difficult start to the current fiscal year last summer and fall. He said he expects the improving volumes to carry the GPA to a stronger second half of fiscal 2024, which ends June 30.
Late last year, the Georgia Ports Authority approved the spending of $127 million to build a second inland rail terminal in Gainesville.
The Blue Ridge Connector will link Northeast Georgia with the Port of Savannah. The new terminal will open in 2026.
“Through improved connectivity, developments like the Blue Ridge Connector maximize the impact of Georgia’s extensive logistics network,” Gov. Brian Kemp said Tuesday. “Inland terminals have a proven track record of powering economic development for rural Georgians by extending
port services to the doorstep of manufacturing and supply chain operations.”
The Blue Ridge Connector will join the Appalachian Regional Port in Northwest Georgia’s Murray County, the first inland terminal operating by the Georgia Ports Authority, which opened in 2018.
Norfolk Southern Railroad will connect the new inland port to the ports authority’s Mason Mega Rail Terminal in Savannah.
Counting the Blue Ridge Connector, the state has now invested $374 million in rail capacity. About 18% to 20% of the ports authority’s container cargo
now moves by rail.
“This important investment will help our customers streamline their supply chains while reducing congestion of Georgia highways,” said Griff Lynch, the authority’s president and CEO. “As we have seen at the Appalachian Regional Port … improved rail service
to the region will increase transportation efficiency and act as a magnet for jobs and economic development.”
Every container moved by rail to the Blue Ridge Connector will avoid a 600mile round trip by truck between Savannah and the Gainesville area.
“That’s a massive benefit to cargo owners seeking to reduce their carbon footprint,” Lynch added.
The federal government is putting up to $46.8 million toward the new inland terminal in the form of a grant from the Federal Maritime Administration.
The Port of Savannah’s containerized cargo business actually saw a decline in 2023, but officials are using it as an opportunity to look towards the future.
Savannah ended 2023 with a total of 4.9 million twenty-foot equivalent units of cargo, a decrease of 16% from the previous year.
Ports officials blamed the decline on inflation and higher interest rates that slowed consumer spending, resulting in higher inventories in warehouses.
“We are using this time to invest in capacity for future needs,” Lynch said. “With the new year, we are beginning to see renewed strength in container volumes, which should result in more favorable comparisons moving forward the next six months.”
The ports authority has committed to $4.2 billion in improvements at the Port of Savannah during the next decade.
The project list includes expansions of Container Berth 1 at the port’s Garden City Terminal and storage space at Savannah, a new on-port office and refrigeration facility for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, and a new transload facility for faster movement of containers from ships to over-the-road trailers.
It’s not just cargo traffic through Savannah that’s driving the surge in a need for more inland port space.
The Port of Brunswick enjoyed a banner year in 2023, but it was an off year for the Port of Savannah.
Brunswick handled a record 775,565 units of autos and machinery last year, an increase of 15.6% over 2022.
The increased traffic at Brunswick came at the same time the Georgia Ports Authority was investing $262 million to expand Colonel’s Island.
The list of improvements includes three new warehouses, 122 acres of new Roll-on/Roll-off cargo storage space, and a fourth Ro/ Ro berth now in the engineering stage. Planning has begun for a new rail yard.
“At its current rate of growth, the Port of Brunswick is poised to become the nation’s busiest gateway for Roll-on/Roll-off cargo,” said Griff Lynch, the ports authority’s executive director. “We will be ready to serve this growth with our capital improvement projects underway and available land to expand to demand.”