Traffic At Georgia Ports Increased In August

By T.A. DeFeo | The Center Square contributor, The Center Square Georgia

September 18, 2022

(The Center Square) — The Georgia Ports Authority continues to handle record freight levels, even as a potential rail strike looms.

In August, the ports handled 575,513 twenty-foot equivalent container units, an increase of 89,918 TEUs, or 18.5%, over August 2021. Coupled with its July volume of 530,800 TEUs, GPA officials said this marks the quickest the Port of Savannah has cleared the 1 million TEU mark in a fiscal year.

"The Port of Savannah’s geographic and capacity advantages remain a driving force behind current and new customers deciding to move cargo through Georgia," GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch said in a statement. "Our central location, and service through the largest container terminal in the Western Hemisphere offers speed to market and unmatched room to grow."

Port officials say "a November 2021 GPA decision to commission the final nine of 18 working tracks on the Port of Savannah’s Mason Mega Rail Terminal will increase rail capacity by 30%." The 85-acre rail yard, which officials tout as the largest of its kind for a port terminal in North America, is served by Class I railroads Norfolk Southern and CSX.

Meanwhile, in a statement, GPA said "its liaisons are communicating with CSX and Norfolk Southern in advance of a potential nationwide freight rail strike." Intermodal cargo accounts for about 17% of GPA’s total container trade.

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