Georgia Ports surpasses 400,000 TEU mark in March

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Georgia Ports reaches 436,000 TEU in March

The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) has handled 436,000 TEU in March, representing an 18.5 per cent increase in commerce compared to the same month last year.

GPA had an 11 per cent increase in overall container commerce during the first three months of calendar year 2024.

Intermodal rail freight reached 44,902 containers at the Port of Savannah in March, representing a 22 per cent rise and a 17 per cent increase fiscal year to date.

GPA President and CEO, Griff Lynch, said: “With double-digit growth in the first quarter, we’re excited about where we’re going and thankful for the continued trust our customers place in Georgia Ports.

“No other port in the country can match Savannah’s efficient operations, thanks to our GPA employees and our partners at the International Longshoremen’s Association and Gateway Terminals.

“GPA’s intermodal team and our partners, CSX and Norfolk Southern, are doing phenomenal work, with cargo reaching inland destinations only three days after crossing our docks. Cargo discharges from a vessel, arrives at inland destinations the next day and is available to customers by day three.”

READ: Georgia Ports invests $30 million to limit terminal truck traffic

The Mason Mega Rail Terminal, North America’s largest on-port rail facility, supports GPA’s intermodal freight expansion. Rail dwell is shorter than one day, and daily train departures transport freight to key markets such as Dallas, Memphis and Atlanta.

GPA Board Chairman, Kent Fountain, stated: “Growing rail infrastructure in Savannah and across the region extends port services to more customers, cuts transportation costs and reduces emissions.

“Mason Mega Rail, combined with rail hubs in Atlanta; our Appalachian Regional Port (in Murray County, GA); and the soon- coming Blue Ridge Connector help avoid traffic congestion by shifting containers from long-haul trucks to rail.”

READ: Georgia Ports moves more than 450,000 TEU in February

The Blue Ridge Connector is currently under development in Gainesville, GA, along the manufacturing and logistics corridor of Interstate 85.

It will be GPA’s second operational inland network Georgia facility, connecting Northeast Georgia to the Port of Savannah’s 37 global containership services. The $134 million facility is slated to open in 2026.

Garden City Terminal West, a new 100-acre container yard close to the main terminal in the Port of Savannah, is another example of GPA’s expanding infrastructure.

The facility has a new truck gate and a safe highway connecting to the Garden City Terminal. Lynch stated that the extra capacity enhances supply chain flexibility when combined with Georgia Ports’ interior rail reach.

“Garden City Terminal West and Mason Mega Rail Terminal combine to provide capacity, range and new long- term storage options,” Lynch added.

“Importers who need to store cargo until it is needed for retail or manufacturing, as well as exporters who need to shift containers to an off-site location can tap GCT West to lower costs.”

In March, GPA authorised contracts worth $65.6 million for container yard work at the Port of Savannah’s Ocean Terminal, a 200-acre complex immediately downriver from the GPA’s main container port.

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