The Georgia Ports Authority increased containerized cargo in March by 27.8 percent compared to the same month a year ago, for an additional 72,499 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs).
“We are moving record volumes while maintaining excellent service levels for our customers,” said Curtis Foltz, executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority, which oversees the Port of Savannah.
“Our March numbers have once again demonstrated the scale, flexibility and efficiency of the Garden City Terminal. Freight handling remained fluid, even with demand well above forecasts,” he said.
For the first time, the Port of Savannah moved 333,058 TEUs in a single month, surpassing its previous monthly record set in October 2014 by more than 21,000 TEUs.
In his view, it wasn’t attributable only to the nine-month labor dispute that caused backlogs forcing shippers to find alternate routes for their cargo. It was a confluence of factors, including the challenge ports in Virginia and New York had in handling that displaced demand, combined with the recovery of the U.S. economy in general and the growth of manufacturing activity in the Southeast in particular.
A better indication of the port’s long-term upward trend, he said, is to look at the 15.3 percent year-on-year growth the port has seen over the first nine months of the current fiscal year. So far, the Garden City terminal has handled 2.66 million twenty-foot equivalent units, or TEUs.
“There is a growing demand and backlog in the supply chain in Asia looking for a way to get their cargo to market,” said Curtis Foltz “Savannah was in the center of their bullseye.”
To handle the increase in cargo, GPA is increasing capacity at the Garden City Terminal of the Port of Savannah. A new truck gate will be constructed and 30 rubber-tired gantry cranes are being purchased, bringing the total to 146 RTGs.