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Georgia port grows shipping volume despite decline elsewhere

File photo by Stephen B. Morton for the Associated Press / The container ship Northern Javelin is worked by ship to shore cranes at the Port of Savannah in Savannah, Georgia. The Georgia Port Authority Monday reported that shipments through the Savannah port continued to grow last month despite a national decline in such shipments.
File photo by Stephen B. Morton for the Associated Press / The container ship Northern Javelin is worked by ship to shore cranes at the Port of Savannah in Savannah, Georgia. The Georgia Port Authority Monday reported that shipments through the Savannah port continued to grow last month despite a national decline in such shipments. File photo by Stephen B. Morton for the Associated Press / The container ship Northern Javelin is worked by ship to shore cranes at the Port of Savannah in Savannah, Georgia. The Georgia Port Authority Monday reported that shipments through the Savannah port continued to grow last month despite a national decline in such shipments.

By Staff Report 3 min read

Despite a nationwide slowdown in cargo shipments, the Port of Savannah continued to grow its business last month as the Georgia port has grown into the nation’s fourth busiest port and the top port in the Southeast.

The Georgia Ports Authority reported Monday that the Savannah port handled 552,800 twenty-foot equivalent (TEU) container units in October, up 9.6% from a year earlier. October was the port’s second busiest month on record after only August of this year.

“There has been downward pressure on the total U.S. container trade related to inflation and a shift in consumer spending toward services such as restaurants and travel,” Georgia Ports Authority Board Chairman Joel Wooten said in a statement Monday. “However, the Port of Savannah continues to outperform relative to the national market, driving new business for Georgia.”

The Savannah port is benefiting from its rail connections to inland port distribution hubs at the Appalachian Regional Port near Chatsworth, Georgia; the Northeast Georgia port in Crandall, Georgia, and the Bainbridge Terminal in south Georgia. The Appalachian Regional Port is 44 miles south of Chattanooga and is capable of handling 50,000 containers a year.

“Customers continue to bring new or expanding business to the Port of Savannah, drawn by our global connectivity and the supply chain network that links Savannah to major U.S. markets,” GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch said in a statement. “We can report that ships at anchor are trending downward and expanded berth capacity coming online next year will allow us to serve our growing customer base with even greater efficiency.”