Port of Savannah moves record number of units in April

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The Port of Savannah handled nearly 500,000 20-foot equivalent container units in April, a record for that month, the Georgia Ports Authority said on May 17.

The 495,782 units in the first 10 months of the Fiscal Year 2022 is an 8 percent increase and makes April the GPA’s third-busiest month ever. GPA’s Garden City Terminal now handles nearly one out of every nine loaded containers crossing the country’s docks.

“The phenomenal growth we have achieved has been made possible by the team effort of GPA and Gateway Terminals employees, the International Longshoremen’s Association, and our partners in trucking and rail,” said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. “Their hard work has ensured the free flow of cargo between major markets across the U.S. Southeast and the world.”

GPA said when compared to the same time last year, its containerized trade increased by 29,150 TEUs in April, or 6.2 percent. The port authority attributed the growth in part to retailers replenishing depleted inventories and making early orders to make products available. For the fiscal year, GPA said it has, to date, handled 4.75 million TEUs, up 344,260 units, an 8 percent increase.

“Our long-running program of infrastructure expansion, coupled with the Authority’s ability as an owner-operator to speed up the schedule of development, has allowed the Port of Savannah to adapt to heightened container volumes,” said GPA Board Chairman Joel Wooten. “On-terminal and inland capacity improvements enable cargo to flow across our docks without congestion.”

In addition, the Savannah port was recently ranked as the top U.S. container port by loaded export volume, handling 1.38 million TEOs in 2021.