Georgia ports post record volume in FY 2021's first half

Georgia Ports Authority has posted record volumes of 3.9 million 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) during July 2020 through March 2021, a 15% increase compared with TEUs during the same period in the previous fiscal year.

At the recently held Georgia Foreign Trade Conference, GPA officials also detailed a plan that expedites completion of more than 1.4 million additional TEUs of annual capacity.

Expansion efforts include the Peak Capacity project, which will add 650,000 TEUs of annual container yard capacity in two phases at Garden City Terminal, with the first phase opening in five months.

Another main component of the expansion plan is the development of 92 acres GPA purchased last year adjacent to the Mason Mega Rail Terminal. Housing approximately 40 rubber-tired gantry cranes and adding 750,000 TEUs of annual capacity, the development will be commissioned within two years.

"I am proud of how our team has not only handled unprecedented cargo volume, but simultaneously advanced long-term capacity enhancements that existed only on paper into fully funded projects that will begin coming online this September," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch in a press release.

In addition to those projects, Lynch detailed a plan to add a transloading facility on a 90-acre parcel just upriver from Garden City Terminal. He said a cross-docking warehouse will be completed in 15 months, served by a yard with nine RTG cranes and an annual capacity of 400,000 TEUs. The new expansion will also improve availability of chassis and empty containers at Garden City Terminal.