The Port of Savannah has handled 413,300 TEU in August, down 28 per cent from August 2022, the Georgia Ports Authority’s (GPA) busiest month on record.
Garden City Terminal at the Port of Savannah handled 49,115 containers by rail in August (approximately 89,000 TEU), an increase of 6 per cent over the same month last year.
Intermodal cargo represented 21.6 per cent of total containers, an uptick in that ratio of roughly 7 per cent compared to August 2022.
“With our Mason Mega Rail Terminal fully operational, we now have the capacity to shift more of our long-haul cargo off state highways and onto rail, which both improves fuel efficiency and reduces traffic congestion,” GPA President and CEO, Griff Lynch, said.
At the GPA Board meeting, Lynch reported that Georgia Ports and CSX have worked together to provide seven-day-a-week rail departures between the Port of Savannah’s Mason Mega Rail Terminal and the railroad’s CCX Yard in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
The Carolina Connector direct rail service will offer customers three-day transit time from vessel discharge to cargo availability.
Savannah’s position as a first port of call for ocean carriers transiting the Panama Canal means cargo will be available at CCX before containers could even be unloaded from a vessel at ports farther up the coast.
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Lynch continued: “We are in the midst of rebuilding some of our berths which has reduced our operating capacity in August.
“Container Berth 1 renovation is now complete with four new cranes operating. We have four more new crane installations almost done and ready by end of the year which will add another big berth.
“At Ocean Terminal, our refurbishment is ongoing and will add another big ship berth in the 2025-2026 period,” Lynch added.
In Ro-Ro cargo, GPA handled 61,300 units of autos and machinery last month, an increase of 8 per cent or nearly 4,600 units more than August 2022. Colonel’s Island Terminal at the Port of Brunswick handled most of the RoRo trade, moving 59,720 units.
In 2022, the GPA handled a record 5.9 million TEU.
More recently, the authority received federal environmental approval to develop an inland terminal near Gainesville.
