Port of Savannah sets annual cargo record
Inland ports, like the one in Northwest Georgia, are prepping to expand
The Port of Savannah moved a record 5.6 million twenty-foot equivalent container units last year, a 20% increase over 2020, the Georgia Ports Authority reported last week.
“While Georgia’s maritime logistics community has been tested by a challenging year, I am proud of our ports’ achievements to keep cargo flowing, support jobs and industry across the region and the world, and to serve customers in every corner of the state,” Gov. Brian Kemp said.
“The Georgia Ports Authority not only powers economic success in the Peach State. It has served as an example to the nation in solving the supply chain crisis.”
The Savannah port set a new monthly record every month last year. In December, the port’s Garden City Terminal handled 465,000 TEUs. Counting Rollon/Roll-off cargo processed at Savannah’s Ocean Terminal, the port moved 668,166 TEUs, during the month, up 11% over December 2020.
Rail drove much of the growth. The Port of Savannah topped
a record 538,000 container lifts to rail last year, or nearly 1 million TEUs. The addition of nine working tracks in November with the completion of the Mason Mega Rail Terminal expanded Savannah’s rail lift capacity to 2 million TEUs per year, an immediate increase of 30%.
From that port many of the containers are shipped through the Appalachian Regional Port north of Chatsworth. That location has been open for a little less than three years and is already a target for expansion by the Georgia Ports Authority.
The growth of containerized shipments through the ports in Savannah and Brunswick has
fueled the need for additional rail-served inland ports.
The state is making plans for another inland port in Hall County and exploring potential locations in west Georgia for a facility. The Kia plant in West Point will likely be the anchor user.
The Appalachian Regional Port has a direct rail connection to the port in Savannah and is currently served with shipments six days a week.
The Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga is one of the largest customers for the Murray County facility. In Floyd County, the top five businesses that benefit from shipments through the port are Pirelli Tire North
American, OTR Wheel Engineering, AST Trading, Advanced Streel Technology and Branson Machinery.
“Our expanded rail and yard capacity, along with new operational practices, allowed GPA to overcome serious headwinds in the international supply chain,” authority Executive Director Griff Lynch said.
Activity at the Port of Brunswick also increased last year despite the supply chain challenges. Colonel’s Island Terminal handled 649,550 units of cars, trucks and machinery, up 10.6% over 2020.
The authority will add 500,000 TEUs of annual capacity in March, growing to a total of 1.6 million TEUs of new capacity by June. That marks a 25% increase in Savannah’s previous capacity for container trade.
At the Port of Brunswick, major expansion efforts are under way at Colonel’s Island that will increase Ro/Ro capacity to 1.3 million units by the end of the year.