The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) set a record fiscal year 2022 with container volumes increasing by 8% to 5.76 million TEU.
The Port of Savannah ended the year on a record June, handling 494,107 TEU, an increase of 10.6% or 47,300 TEU compared to the same month last year.
It should be noted that Savannah’s port trade benefited from the West Coast labor talks and the delay in railroad access to West Coast ports, causing a significant change in vessel calls.
The US major box port also receives container trade diverted from the Port of Charleston.
“Despite record volumes, the Port of Savannah remains fluid,” said GPA executive director, Griff Lynch.
“Several factors have contributed to our growing container capacity, including expedited infrastructure projects, our inland pop-up yards and an influx of truck drivers moving to the Southeast,” he added.
Furthermore, GPA has record truck turnovers both during the day and during the night gate operation. Garden City Terminal saw a weekday average of 14,500 truck movements in June, counting both inbound and outbound gate exchanges.
GPA’s board approved the purchase of 12 new rubber-tired gantry cranes and other container handling equipment.
“Presently, we are expanding our dock space to handle additional big ships and increasing our container storage space in Savannah, while simultaneously enhancing our capabilities to move autos and breakbulk in Brunswick,” said GPA board chairman, Joel Wooten.
In 2022, export cargoes reached 1.32 million TEU for GPA, while import cargoes totalled 2.86 million TEU.
