Georgia Ports CEO: Cargo volume rose in 2024, expansion plans underway

The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) reported 12.5% growth in container movement at the Port of Savannah in 2024. The authority plans to increase its capacity at berths, container yards and rail facilities to more than double the Port of Savannah's capacity in the next 10 years, Georgia Ports Authority President and CEO Griff Lynch announced yesterday.

The Port of Savannah handled nearly 5.6 million 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) in 2024, up 618,000 TEUs over 2023 and an increase that makes Savannah the fastest growing container gateway on the East and Gulf coasts, GPA officials said in a press release.

Mason Mega Rail Terminal at the Port of Savannah logged record volume in 2024, moving 540,850 containers by train, up 5.7% from 2023. The on-port intermodal facility provides access to Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX. The GPA’s inland Appalachian Regional Port reached an annual high of 37,840 rail lifts, up 8.3%.

Meanwhile, the GPA’s Blue Ridge Connector, near Gainesville, is slated to open in 2026, and will be served by NS. Containers moving between the Blue Ridge Connector and the Savannah port by rail will avoid a 600-mile roundtrip by truck, port authority officials said. The facility will have a capacity of 200,000 containers per year, which would avoid 120 million truck miles annually.

The Port of Savannah's Ocean Terminal container yard and berths are under construction, with an estimated completion date in mid-2028. The improvements will increase the terminal's capacity by up to 1.5 million TEUs per year, GPA officials said. A new berth at Ocean Terminal has opened, to be used as a staging area for big ships during renovations at the terminal. GPA expects this berth will add up to 1 million TEUs of capacity per year. A second berth at Ocean Terminal will open in 2026 to decrease the idle berth time at Garden City Terminal. 

The Savannah Container Terminal on Hutchinson Island is slated to open by 2030, adding three big ship berths and 3.5 million TEUs of annual capacity. This project is currently in the permitting phase, GPA officials said.

“These improvements are necessary to stay ahead of growing demand ... With $4 billion in investments planned for Ocean Terminal and Savannah Container Terminal, Savannah will be a 12.5 million-TEU capacity port by 2035,” Lynch said.