The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) saw the highest-ever volume of intermodal rail moves in Fiscal Year 2015 with the Port of Savannah having moved 369,347 containers by rail in FY2015, up from the previous year record of 332,996 containers set in FY2014, the authority announced on July 27, 2015. The growing volumes moved by rail resulted in an increase of 10.9% or 36,351 containers for the year.
In other cargo sectors, GPA moved a record 2.66 million twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs) in FY2015, an increase of more than half a million TEUs.
“The deep water ports of Savannah and Brunswick are cornerstones of Georgia’s success, and major factors in creating new jobs and prosperity across the state,” said Georgia Governor Nathan Deal. “The wave of economic impact created by our logistics network supports virtually every industry, from manufacturing and agriculture to mining, distribution, technology and transportation.”
Strong performances across business sectors also led to record in total tonnage and roll-on/roll-off cargo in the year ending June 30, 2015.
"Georgia's ports have seen phenomenal growth over the past fiscal year, due to a combination of West Coast cargo diversions, U.S. economic recovery and regional gateway shifts placing more demands on Georgia's terminals," said GPA Executive Director Curtis Foltz. "Our people and our infrastructure rose to meet that demand flawlessly, handling record volumes while maintaining world-class customer service."
The 3.66 million TEUs crossing Savannah's docks in FY2015 constitutes a 17% increase compared to the previous fiscal year. FY2014 was the first year in which GPA moved more than 3 million TEUs, the authority said.
"Part of ensuring reliability is investing in port infrastructure," GPA Board Chairman James Walters said. "Our development plans will follow our current practice of maintaining capacity at least 20% above demand—not only in Brunswick, but in Savannah, where we are buying four new ship-to-shore cranes and 30 more gantry cranes. Investments such as these will enable GPA to handle expanding cargo volumes both now and in the future."
Total tonnage in FY2015, reached a record 31.69 million tons, up 7.8% or 2.29 million tons. Of that amount, containerized cargo accounted for 25.89 million tons, also up 7.8% or 1.86 million tons more than in FY2014.
The GPA also achieved an 8.1% improvement in bulk cargo tonnage for a total of 2.95 million tons, an increase of 221,601 tons. GPA terminals moved 7.6% (200,875 tons) more break-bulk cargo in FY2015 than in the previous year. Total break-bulk, which includes commodities such as paper, rubber and steel, reached 2.83 million tons.
The GPA moved more autos and machinery than ever in the year just ended. Combined, Brunswick and Savannah moved 714,021 units of roll-on/roll-off cargo, an improvement of 13,313 units or 1.9%. Of the total, Brunswick handled 680,427 units.