The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) handled 552,800 TEUs in October, marking an increase of 9.6% compared to the same month last 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 US markets,” commented GPA executive director, Griff Lynch.
October was GPA’s second busiest month on record after only August of this year, when the Port of Savannah handled 575,500 TEUs. GPA has now topped half a million TEUs in three of the first four months of the Fiscal Year 2023 (from July through October), for total volumes of 2.1 million TEUs for this period.
In the opening months of the current fiscal year, 160 importers were either new customers at the Port of Savannah or existing customers who grew their Savannah trade by 20% or more, according to the port’s statement.
GPA noted that Savannah and other East and Gulf Coast ports in the United States have gained market share relative to the US West Coast in the latest months.
According to the most recent data from PIERS/IHS Markit, the East Coast increased its share of the container trade from 47% in July 2021 to 48.4% in July of this year.
In the meantime, GPA’s Port of Brunswick also achieved significant growth in October. Colonel’s Island Terminal handled 70,233 units of Roll-on/Roll-off cargo last month, translating to a year-on-year increase of 22,045 units or nearly 46%.
