Port of Savannah set container volume record in FY2018

The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) logged a record 4.2 million 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) in fiscal-year 2018, an 8.45 percent year-over-year increase, port officials announced today.

The gain amounted to an additional 325,000 units in FY2018 over FY2017. The port authority capped the latest fiscal year, which ended June 30, with its 20th consecutive month of year-over-year volume growth, GPA officials said in a press release.

"Moving more than 4 million TEUs in a single fiscal year is an important milestone for Georgia," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. "Georgia's logistical advantages, along with the Southeast's population growth, have resulted in increased demand, while the expanded Panama Canal has cleared the way for larger vessels to call Savannah."

In June, the Port of Savannah handled 370,725 TEUs, up 9.8 percent versus June 2017.

In addition, intermodal rail lifts surged to 435,000, an increase of 16 percent, or more than 60,000 additional moves — another fiscal-year record for the GPA. 

“The market's increasing recognition of Georgia as a rail hub for East Coast container trade reinforces our determination to double Savannah's on-terminal rail lift capacity," said Lynch.

Also today, the GPA board approved construction of an $8.8 million overpass, part of the $127 million Mason Mega Rail project that, upon completion, will allow 10,000-foot unit trains to be built on terminal at the port.

In August, the GPA expects to open its Appalachian Regional Port, an inland rail terminal that is projected to remove 50,000 trucks from Georgia highways annually, according to authority officials.