THE Port of Savannah posted a 7.5 per cent year-on-year increase in container volume to a record-breaking 4.35 million TEU in calendar year 2018, its highest annual volume ever, according to the Georgia Ports Authority.
'The level of business Georgia has captured is a testament to the world-class service provided,' said the ports executive director Griff Lynch.
'Georgia's unrivaled connectivity to Atlanta, Memphis, Charlotte and beyond allows port customers to reach new and growing markets,' he said.
In December alone, the Port of Savannah handled 351,366 TEU, an increase of 8.7 per cent, or 28,250 TEU. It was the Authority's busiest December ever, and capped a year with nine of the GPA's 10 busiest months on record.
Said Georgia Ports Authority chairman Jimmy Allgood: 'The reason Georgia's ports remain the fastest growing in the nation is because we are quickly adding capacity to our operations.'
The US Army Corps of Engineers has completed outer harbour dredging at the Port of Savannah, marking the midpoint of the Savannah Harbour Expansion Project. The federal government provided US$101.1 million to continue SHEP construction this year, and inner harbour dredging is on track to start this year.
During the meeting, Mr Lynch informed board members the expansion of Gate 8 had been completed, and will increase overall gate capacity by 16 per cent, for a total of 56 lanes. The expanded gate will open next month.
In addition, the authority has ordered 12 new rubber-tyre gantry cranes to serve the port, bringing its fleet to 158. The first 10 new RTGs will arrive and be commissioned in July.
Two will be commissioned in September. Construction on six ship-to-shore cranes slated to arrive in 2020 is now 45 per cent complete. The new cranes will bring the Port of Savannah's fleet to 36 and allow the port to increase big ship capacity.
The Port of Savannah handled its most ever containers by rail in 2018, moving 860,000 TEU - via Class I rail providers Norfolk Southern and CSX.
The rail volume represented a 19 per cent increase compared to 2017. To handle the additional intermodal volumes, GPA will complete Phase I of the Mason Mega Rail project in October of this year, and Phase II by October 2020.
When complete, the project will double current rail capacity at Garden City Terminal from 500,000 to one million containers per year.
In Brunswick, autos and machinery increased by 6.4 per cent (18,911 units) in the first half of Fiscal Year 2019 (July-December 2018) for a total of 315,611 units. At GPA's Colonel's Island, the single largest autoport in North America, expansion projects are under way that will double GPA's rail capacity and significantly increase near-dock storage.
The Authority also plans to develop another 400 acres to bring annual throughput capacity to 1.5 million vehicles in the coming years.
'Brunswick's proximity to Southeastern dealerships and auto manufacturers, combined with its ability to reach important inland markets via CSX and Norfolk Southern, makes it the ideal autoport for import cargo,' Mr Lynch said.
WORLD SHIPPING
'The level of business Georgia has captured is a testament to the world-class service provided,' said the ports executive director Griff Lynch.
'Georgia's unrivaled connectivity to Atlanta, Memphis, Charlotte and beyond allows port customers to reach new and growing markets,' he said.
In December alone, the Port of Savannah handled 351,366 TEU, an increase of 8.7 per cent, or 28,250 TEU. It was the Authority's busiest December ever, and capped a year with nine of the GPA's 10 busiest months on record.
Said Georgia Ports Authority chairman Jimmy Allgood: 'The reason Georgia's ports remain the fastest growing in the nation is because we are quickly adding capacity to our operations.'
The US Army Corps of Engineers has completed outer harbour dredging at the Port of Savannah, marking the midpoint of the Savannah Harbour Expansion Project. The federal government provided US$101.1 million to continue SHEP construction this year, and inner harbour dredging is on track to start this year.
During the meeting, Mr Lynch informed board members the expansion of Gate 8 had been completed, and will increase overall gate capacity by 16 per cent, for a total of 56 lanes. The expanded gate will open next month.
In addition, the authority has ordered 12 new rubber-tyre gantry cranes to serve the port, bringing its fleet to 158. The first 10 new RTGs will arrive and be commissioned in July.
Two will be commissioned in September. Construction on six ship-to-shore cranes slated to arrive in 2020 is now 45 per cent complete. The new cranes will bring the Port of Savannah's fleet to 36 and allow the port to increase big ship capacity.
The Port of Savannah handled its most ever containers by rail in 2018, moving 860,000 TEU - via Class I rail providers Norfolk Southern and CSX.
The rail volume represented a 19 per cent increase compared to 2017. To handle the additional intermodal volumes, GPA will complete Phase I of the Mason Mega Rail project in October of this year, and Phase II by October 2020.
When complete, the project will double current rail capacity at Garden City Terminal from 500,000 to one million containers per year.
In Brunswick, autos and machinery increased by 6.4 per cent (18,911 units) in the first half of Fiscal Year 2019 (July-December 2018) for a total of 315,611 units. At GPA's Colonel's Island, the single largest autoport in North America, expansion projects are under way that will double GPA's rail capacity and significantly increase near-dock storage.
The Authority also plans to develop another 400 acres to bring annual throughput capacity to 1.5 million vehicles in the coming years.
'Brunswick's proximity to Southeastern dealerships and auto manufacturers, combined with its ability to reach important inland markets via CSX and Norfolk Southern, makes it the ideal autoport for import cargo,' Mr Lynch said.
WORLD SHIPPING